


Mazel Tov

by heartsdesire456



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Angst, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-01
Updated: 2014-01-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 02:53:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 68,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When Adam first woke up, suffering the hangover from hell, his first order of business was to roll out of bed and crawl across the hotel room floor to the bathroom where he proceeded to vomit up at least half of what he’d ingested in the past twelve years of his life.However, once that was taken care of and Adam raised his hand to flush it all away, he noticed the silver band on his left ring finger. As soon as he registered that, no, it wasn't just a ring he forgot he put on, and that it was most likely a wedding band, his first thought was the one which was least of his concerns at the moment.</i>
</p>
<p><i></i>I hope it was at least a man.<i> Woke-up-Married!fic</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is from 2011 and I've dragged my feet about moving it to AO3 so to finally light a fire under my butt, I'm posting a chapter a day/every few days.
> 
> Any errors... are likely there. This fic is so old I haven't read it in ages. Enjoy?

When Adam first woke up, suffering the hangover from hell, his first order of business was to roll out of bed and crawl across the hotel room floor to the bathroom where he proceeded to vomit up at least half of what he’d ingested in the past twelve years of his life.

However, once that was taken care of and Adam raised his hand to flush it all away, he noticed the silver band on his left ring finger. As soon as he registered that, no, it wasn’t just a ring he forgot he put on, and that it was most likely a wedding band, his first thought was the one which was least of his concerns at the moment.

_Fuck I hope it was at least a man._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy woke up and immediately had to make a run for the toilet. It actually took him a moment to figure out which was the most dire need: his need to piss or to hurl.

In the end he was saved the choice by promptly losing it and completely emptying his stomach contents into the porcelain throne. After forcing himself to his feet to take care of the other problem, he rinsed out his mouth and then staggered out of the bathroom, only to see that the other bed was occupied by Taylor, not Isaac. “Taylor?” he mumbled in confusion. He looked around the room and then stupidly stumbled to the door. He opened it and leaned out to examine the room number, trying to remember if he was in the right room or not.

He weaved his way back into the room and started looking for his stuff, hoping he was in the right room and Taylor was in the wrong one. He located his bag and sighed, finding that the key card in the pocket of the jeans tossed on top of it matched the number outside the door. He still felt like he was dying, so he promptly face planted across the foot of the bed he had been in and tugged the covers up over his head before falling back asleep.

After what only felt like minutes later, he woke up with the distinct feel of something or someone poking his foot. He wiggled his way out from under the covers and glared down at his feet, only to see Taylor studying his feet pensively. “You’re not Isaac,” he grumbled, kicking.

Taylor hummed. “The hell did we drink last night?” he asked curiously.

Tommy whined, clutching his head in pain. “Dunno but I hate you for giving it to me.”

“Um… Tommy?” Taylor started in a small voice. Tommy grunted only to open his eyes when he felt Taylor tugging his hand away from his head. “Uh… were you wearing this last night?” he asked, waving his left hand uneasily.

Tommy stared at the ring on his finger and frowned. “‘s not mine,” he mumbled, then paled when he realized what it appeared to be. “Oh fuuucck,” he groaned and Taylor blinked.

“… Um… we didn’t get married did we?” he asked suddenly, checking himself for wayward rings or marriage certificates.

Tommy sat up, instantly regretting it when his head throbbed. “Oh God, oh fuck me, oh shit,” he whined, falling over slowly, whimpering helplessly.

“Um… here, I’ve got pills,” Taylor offered, grabbing a bottle off the bedside table, handing a few to Tommy, who took them dry, wincing as they scraped down his throat. “They were in Isaac’s bag,” he said softly, clearly not as hung over as Tommy.

“Taylor, what happened last night?” he asked weakly, curling on the foot of the bed once again. “I don’t even know where we are,” he whined helplessly, still fuzzy as fuck.

“I don’t remember much but at least I know we’re in Quebec and I’m in your and Isaac’s hotel room, Isaac isn’t, and I don’t have any shoes here,” he said, sitting down easily. “I woke up and took pills earlier and now I’ve looked all over and I have nothing else here,” he said, and Tommy nodded weakly. “I remember that bar,” he started and Tommy grunted.

“Fruity blue frozen thingies,” he muttered and Taylor nodded with a disgusted look on his face.

“I threw up on a bush last night, I think. It was Technicolor,” he said, shuddering.

Tommy whined. “Taylor… I don’t remember last night and I’m wearing a wedding ring,” he muttered, half dead and half wishing he was dead.

Taylor cringed. “Well… maybe Isaac remembers?” he offered. “And knows how I ended up here.”

Tommy nodded then blinked. “It’s Quebec, are we sure I didn’t marry you?” he asked and Taylor shrugged.

“Not wearing a ring and I don’t see a marriage certificate. Doubt it.”

Tommy nodded. “Neither of us are naked so that’s good.”

Taylor giggled softly. “Dude how funny is it you fucking got married in a drunken stupor and don’t know who to?” he offered and Tommy just glared.

“I’m still hoping I’m not married and this is all a prank,” he muttered weakly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy’s thirtieth birthday happened to fall on an off night. They had arrived in Quebec the day before the show, so that night they all decided to party until dawn to celebrate Tommy hitting the big three-oh. It made sense after a night so wild that Tommy and Taylor didn’t remember how they ended up back at the hotel, it took until noon before everybody started trickling down to the hotel restaurant to get much needed food and fill in some blank spaces on the night before.

Tommy, however, was the one most needing of information. “You guys,” he spoke up, looking around the table that currently seated Taylor to his right, Sasha beside Taylor, Isaac beside her and across from Tommy, Terrance beside him, and Sutan between Tommy and Terrance. “Um… Taylor and I… we have a question- er… some questions,” he said and Taylor groaned.

“Okay, how did I end up in his room with no shoes last night?” he asked, looking around expectantly.

Sasha giggled. “TommyJoe! You dirty boy-“

“We slept in separate beds and were both clothed, thank you,” Taylor argued. “I’m serious! Why weren’t you there, Isaac?” he asked.

Isaac shrugged. “You guys kinda left before I did. Monte and I were still talking to that guy,” he said. “When we got back, I had a text saying not to disturb you so I bunked with Terrance,” he explained.

Terrance nodded. “Yeah, me and Brooke and Cam were still dancing at the first club when you guys left and I was already in bed when Isaac got back,” he agreed.

Sutan however, waved a hand. “Wait, wait, wait,” he looked at Tommy. “So let me get this straight… you spent the night with _Taylor_?!” he asked, frowning. 

Tommy nodded. “Yeah, what?” he asked.

Sutan just shot him a look. “Uh, what do you mean ‘what’?! That doesn’t make any sense, TommyJoe,” he said, wagging a finger. “I know you were drunk but nobody’s too drunk to get freaky on their wedding night,” he said, making lude hip motions in his chair with a grin.

Tommy dropped the piece of bread in his hand, eyes widening in horror. “It’s not a prank?!” he asked, looking horrified.

Sutan frowned. “Uh, what the fuck?” he asked, looking offended.

Taylor’s head popped around Tommy’s shoulder. “Oh God it’s not me is it?!” he cried, looking horrified.

Sutan rolled his eyes. “No, you were his best man,” he said, waving a fussy hand before frowning at Tommy seriously. “You don’t remember getting married?”

Isaac gaped. “Wait-wait-wait… so you’re saying that Tommy got _married_ last night?!” he asked, gaping.

Sasha blinked. “Wait, I was there, wasn’t I?” she asked and Sutan groaned.

“Do none of you little people hold your liquor?!” he whined dramatically, tugging at his hair in frustration. “Ohmygod,” he groaned. “Fuck, so you don’t remember?” he confirmed and Tommy shook his head vigorously. He stared at him. “Do you at least know who you married?” he asked softly.

Tommy shook his head. “Oh fuck, did I marry a random person? Oh fuck it was that brunette at the first club!” he said, looking horrified.

Sasha gasped. “Oh God, I have the certificate!” she said, suddenly fumbling with her purse. “I’m getting flashes. I was the one who signed it, right? Like, a witness?” she said and Sutan nodded, looking somewhat terrified.

“You guys… does nobody that was there remember?” he asked softly and they all shook their heads. “Oh my God,” he said, going pale. “That wasn’t some dramatically romantic, spur of the moment, life in the fast lane, ‘cause we’re stupid in love’ type elopement was it?” he asked, gaping at Tommy. 

Sasha let out a triumphant noise. “Aha!” she said, then held up the paper, which Taylor promptly snatched from her, smoothing it out on the table, only to gasp. He looked up at Tommy, jaw hanging open. Sasha ducked over it and squinted, then sat up straight, mouth in a straight line, looking uneasy.

Tommy blinked. “What?”

Isaac stood up and leaned over, snatching it away, holding it in front of him quickly. His eyes scanned the page and then froze before widening as he slowly sat down in his seat once more. He looked up at Tommy before handing it to Terrance. “Um… Tommy,” he started, then gave him an apologetic look. “So… about that whole ‘straight’ thing,” he started and Tommy felt his heart stop. “How- how serious about that are you?” he asked with an awkward chuckle.

Sutan officially flailed, nearly sending his chair tipping over. “YOU MEAN THAT’S NOT A JOKE?!?” he cried, scaring half the restaurant, ducking as tons of people froze mid-lunch and turned to stare at their table. He ducked down, whispering in a furious hiss. “Tommy is actually straight?! I always thought it was just a really long-running joke!” he whisper-shouted at them.

Tommy swallowed thickly. “I married a guy?” he asked weakly. He reached out for the certificate, tugging it to himself. He looked down at it, eyes scanning along, only to blink when he saw the name on the certificate besides his own.

_Adam Mitchel Lambert_

“Oh holy fuck,” Tommy whispered hollowly, eyes nearly bugging out as he read the name over and over.

Sutan sighed. “Raja was his maid of honor. Oh my God, I thought that was some fucking ‘secret-romance’ spur of the moment choice to elope or something, Tommy. I’d have stopped you if I knew- Oh God,” he muttered, putting his face in his hands.

Tommy just blinked and looked up. “Someone kill me now,” he begged, letting his head bang to the table pitifully.

“Um, Sutan?” Everybody jumped when Adam walked up behind Sutan, startling them all. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, biting his lip and looking upset. Sutan whined, banging his forehead against the table next to Tommy, who was refusing to even lift his head from the table at the sound of Adam’s voice.

“Oh God, Adam, this isn’t a good time-“

“Please?” he asked, looking pale. “Sutan, something serious is-“ He felt his eyes widen when he saw Sasha nodding her head at the paper laying in the middle of the table, wiggling her eyebrows at him. “What?” he asked, frowning.

Terrance cleared his throat. “Uh… I’m gonna just-“ he gestured to the doorway and Taylor jumped up.

“We’re going to practice!” he said, snatching Sasha out of her chair as he and Terrance rushed off, only to come back and snag Isaac.

“Isaac’s gonna learn to dance,” he said quickly, dragging him away with him.

Sutan looked horrified as Adam raised an eyebrow at Tommy. “Um… you okay, TommyJoe?” he asked, then leaned over him to grab the paper, sitting down beside Sutan. “What’s this?” he asked, then froze until his hands started shaking on the paper. “Oh so you’re not okay,” he said shakily.

Sutan gave him the most apologetic look he could as he reached over and rubbed between Tommy’s shoulder blades gently. “You don’t remember either?” he asked and Adam shook his head weakly, letting the marriage certificate flutter to the table. “Oh my God, you two are assholes,” he said and Adam turned to stare at him, gaping. Tommy jerked his head up, glowering. “Well you are!” he cried.

“You let me marry a _dude_ \- one of my best friends, while I was at it- and I’m an asshole?!” Tommy hissed. “I’m straight and I’m married to a DUDE!”

Adam snorted. “Why the fuck did you think letting us get married was a good thing-“

“I thought when I joked that you two should get married and then you looked at each other and went all ‘holy shit we should!’ that it was some spur of the moment, romantic way of admitting you’ve had a secret relationship going on behind our backs! I never ever thought you were both just _that_ fucked up!” he said helplessly. “Who the hell is that drunk?! I mean, you get drunk and have a threesome with an old man and a midget, not get _married_!” he hissed.

Adam suddenly blinked. “Wait… did we-“ he cut himself off, groaning.

Tommy snorted. “I don’t think so. I think I’d notice that, dude,” he said pointedly. “Besides, I woke up with Taylor,” he said and Adam gaped.

“So we got married AND you hooked up with a teenager last night?!” he squeaked and Tommy glared.

“No! I just meant as opposed to Isaac you dipshit, oh my God,” he said, then whined softly. “I married my friend last night. Oh God,” he groaned.

Adam just cringed. “At least you’re not some gross ugly stranger,” he said, then shrugged. “Or a girl.”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, imagine how I feel,” he said and Sutan snickered at the hurt look Adam shot him. “The girl part, idiot. Of course you’re hot and shit,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “How attractive my _husband_ is isn’t really the issue right at this moment,” he said and Adam squeaked.

“Oh my God I’m somebody’s _husband_!” he whined desperately.

Sutan smiled uneasily. “Mazel tov?” he offered and they both turned the darkest looks possible on him. “Okay, running away now!” he tried, jumping up to dash away.


	2. Chapter 2

Tommy was sitting in an armchair with his knees tugged up to his chest while Adam stood arguing with Lane. They were in Lane’s room hiding out in case someone _saw_ them get married and it was all over the internet. “Where were the grownups when I was being coerced into marriage?” he asked suddenly, picking at the lint on his socks.

“You’re thirty fucking years old, Tommy, I’m pretty sure you are an adult, you little shit,” Lane said, clearly frustrated.

“Oh don’t take it out on Tommy, he’s just as fucked up over this as you are because _he_ is the one fucking married,” Adam defended, throwing up his hands. “And he means someone who had half a brain, like Monte or Neil,” he said and Tommy giggled.

“Totally not half a brain in Neil,” he said and Adam gave him a weak smile. Tommy whined, pressing his face into his kneecaps. “Adam, what do we do?” he asked softly.

“I don’t know, Tommy,” he said weakly. “We’ll figure it out though,” he said with a hopeful smile.

“Are we sure we’re actually married and like… this isn’t just some fucked up prank?” he asked, looking up hopefully.

Lane cringed. “The name on the certificate as the officiator is listed as a Justice of the Peace… and they work at the municipal offices where you’d file for a license.”

“How were we approved for a marriage license?” Adam asked. “Don’t you need like… birth certificate and-“

“All you’d need is your passport and your ID,” Lane said darkly.

“Annulment!” Tommy said quickly. “We were drunk, doesn’t that make it easy to get a marriage annulled?” he asked.

Lane cringed. “Technically, that’s our only option because according to the lawyer I just spoke to, divorce is only legal if one of you has been living here for at least a year.”

Adam’s eyes bugged out. “We can’t get divorced?!” he cried in shock.

Tommy blinked. “Alright, um, call up your lawyer friend again. Annulment! Not legally consenting under influence of alcohol,” he said, waving a finger at her phone. “Go.”

Adam groaned. “Oh fuck what if-“

“No what ifs,” Tommy said frantically, eyes wide. “There is no what ifs cause I can’t be married to anybody, much less one of my best friends!” he said, voice cracking as he officially freaked out.

Adam and Lane both shot him sympathetic looks and then turned away, going back to their arguing.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
By the time they were getting ready to take the stage, everybody was officially worried about Tommy. Adam was at least able to fake a calm façade, but Tommy was silent and shut down, two words that _never_ described Tommy. Taylor was the first one to give in and walk over, flopping beside him. “Tommy?” he asked, reaching out to grab his elbow. “Are you okay?” he asked, worried.

Tommy nodded, sighing. “Considering, yeah, I’d say okay is decent enough,” he said.

Taylor just sighed and pulled Tommy into a hug, kissing the side of his head. “It’ll all work out. Lane will take care of it. Just watch,” he comforted.

Tommy smiled, throwing an arm around Taylor. “Sure thing, kid,” he teased, earning a smile from the teenager.

“Alright, old man,” he joked, kissing his cheek before he got up.

Just as they were waiting to go onstage, Adam came up beside Tommy and touched his hand lightly. “Do you want… should I back off on stage tonight?” he asked softly. “I mean-“

Tommy cut him off, catching his fingers to squeeze them. “Adam I don’t blame you,” he said and Adam slumped slightly.

“I’m still sorry,” he said weakly, eyes downcast.

Tommy shook his head. “No reason to not give the fans a full show right?”

Adam nodded, smiling hopefully. “Alright, so… you forgive me?” he asked.

Tommy snorted. “Adam, come on, you were just as drunk as me,” he said, tugging at his fingers absently. “I remember you falling asleep on me in the car back to the hotel because you were so wasted,” he said and Adam groaned, shaking his head. “We’re both equal blame here.”

Adam nodded. “Alright, but can we really talk later?” he asked. He cringed. “I don’t feel like going out tonight,” he admitted.

Tommy snorted. “No shit, last time you did it you ended up married to my ugly ass,” he said, then nudged him. “We’ll talk and it’ll be okay, right?”

“I hope so.” Tommy watched him walk away and he sighed heavily, worried about what this would do to their friendship.

The kiss that night was tiny and gentle, Adam’s hand cupping his face. In a way it felt like an apology.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They weren’t leaving until morning so Tommy and Adam went back Adam’s room to talk. Tommy picked up his bag on the way up so he could just stay with Adam. When they first got there, Adam groaned, kicking off his boots. “I’m getting a shower,” he said and Tommy nodded.

“I got one before we left the venue, so go ahead.” He waved a hand at the bathroom, earning an eye roll from Adam, who grabbed some clothes before disappearing. Tommy quickly changed into some shorts and a tee shirt and planted himself on Adam’s king-sized bed, grabbing the room service menu off of the bedside table, flipping through it.

When Adam came walking out of the bathroom wearing low-slung pajama pants and a plain tee-shirt, rubbing a towel through his hair, Tommy was just hanging up the phone, sitting back with a sigh as he thumped against the pillow behind his back. Adam shot him a look. “What was that?” he asked, tossing the towel on the foot of the bed as he flopped across it as well.

“Room service,” Tommy said, sighing. “Alright, let’s talk before my chocolate cake gets here,” he said, sitting up straight. “Cake shouldn’t be spoiled by serious discussion.”

Adam nodded. “So, we’re legally married, we can’t get divorced, and Lane’s working with a lawyer on the annulment but so far it’s looking like, at the best, we’re going to be married a while,” he said uneasily. “And as much as I hate to tell you this, it probably won’t stay quiet very long,” he said with a cringe. “Marriage records are public.”

Tommy winced but nodded. “I figured as much,” he said softly. He whined. “I just… this isn’t-“

“It’s going to be okay, Tommy. We’ll just… we’ll keep it quiet as long as possible and if the marriage comes out, we’ll deny it,” he said simply, shrugging.

Tommy just nodded. “Okay. Sounds- that sounds best,” he said softly.

Adam nodded, then looked up, crossing his legs under him as he faced Tommy with an open look that Tommy was startled by. “I’m so sorry. I just- Tommy, I’m so fucking sorry,” he spilled in a rush, clenching his hands in his pajama pants legs. “When I woke up married I was freaking out but I know you’ve got to be freaking out worse. I mean you don’t even like boys and you’re married to me now and then all afternoon you were so quiet and I was so scared you hated me and you’re seriously one of my best friends, please don’t?” he almost begged.

Tommy sighed. “Adam, calm down-“

“I’m just so scared,” Adam whispered, putting his face in his hands. “This could ruin everything. It would- my career and- and if it gets out my already shaky image is _ruined_ and I need all of my friends right now more than ever and I can’t have you hating me and everybody siding with you and they would cause you’re the victim here and-“

Tommy crawled closer and slid his arms around Adam, shutting him up by burrowing as close as he could. “Adam, shut the fuck up,” he said, sighing when Adam deflated, clinging to him. “It’s not your fault. And fuck it, Adam, I really hope you don’t think so little of me that you think I’d be freaking out any less if I’d woken up married to someone of the gender I _am_ attracted to, okay?” he said, pinching his side pointedly. “Cause if you think that about me, you’re an asshole.” He pulled back and smiled at him weakly. “And most of all, nobody is turning their back on you, okay? We all love you to death because nobody is like you and, if nothing else, you brought this family together, okay?” he said, and Adam nodded weakly. “And as for your image, fuck the haters,” he said and Adam actually cracked a small smile. Tommy poked him as he sat back. “I’m more terrified the fans will find out, be _elated_ that they were right all along, and then get their little hopes shattered when we deny it or they find out it was annulled.”

Adam snickered, nodding. “It would be some shit about how I turned you gay and then cheated on you with Sutan and broke your heart and left you all scorned and alone,” he joked and Tommy snorted.

“Nah, my money’s on Brad. The fans love him. They would say he wormed his way into ruining our happy marriage with his excellent ass or something,” he said, and Adam fell over onto the bed, laughing.

“I think even my older friends would believe that,” he said with a sad shake of his head. “They know how I am with the pretty boys,” he said, sighing.

Tommy grinned. “Alright, I’ve ordered chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, you don’t get any, and then you’re giving me a mani-pedi because you just _forced_ me to be your husband,” he teased and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Fucker,” he said, then smiled at Tommy as he crawled up to the head of the bed. “You know, if I had to go through this with anybody, I’m glad it’s you, TommyJoe,” he said softly, looking at him with a sweet smile.

Tommy grinned. “Cause I’m the sexiest out of the guys you had available to marry,” he said, winking when he hopped up to go answer the door.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was a week of relative peace and normality after that. Nobody seemed to have figured anything out, so Adam hoped that maybe they had gotten away with it. However, as Adam and Lane were heading to meet Neil, who was joining them for the rest of the tour, at a diner not far from where he lived, Lane’s phone started going crazy. Adam stopped and stared as she answered her phone, only to pale and put it away, ignoring the buzzing. “Oh no,” he said weakly.

She sighed. “Let’s get where we’re going before we freak out,” she said, convincing Adam to not answer his phone when it started buzzing in his pocket. 

By the time they got to the diner, Adam’s thigh was going numb from all the buzzing, so he fished his phone out and set it on the table as they sat down. Lane started texting someone and Adam just put his head in his hands, feeling his fingers shaking against his temples. He vaguely heard Lane ordering them both coffees, but he was too busy panicking quietly.

“Adam, Neil’s here.” Adam lifted his head when Lane prodded him and he smiled weakly, feeling trepidation mixed with relief as Neil got to their table and slid in next to him. 

“Who died?” Neil joked, only to freeze when Adam’s eyes dropped. “Nobody actually died, did they?” he asked quickly.

Adam whimpered. “Probably just my career,” he whispered, putting his hands over his face.

Lane put down the phone and slid it across to Adam, who peeked down and whined. It was on TMZ, which meant it was bound to be on every blog and every twitter feed on the entire planet within minutes. “We need a plan,” she said and Adam shook his head weakly, feeling a headache already starting.

“What’s wrong?” Neil asked seriously.

Adam sighed, putting his hands down as he picked up his untouched, still black coffee and sipped it. “I got drunk and got married and I can’t get divorced and probably can’t get an annulment and now it’s public news,” he said simply, face ashen.

“You _what_?!” Neil hissed. “To who? And where?” he added.

Lane sighed. “The worst person he could’ve and in Quebec a week ago,” she said. “Everybody got drunk, it would seem, and the only person who _remembered_ the entire wedding was convinced it was a secret relationship they’d kept hidden and were eloping because they happened to be somewhere they could marry,” she said with a whine.

“Which I don’t get,” Adam pointed out suddenly. “How the fuck did Sutan think we were in a fucking secret relationship?! How did he not think to talk us out of an irrational drunken wedding ceremony?!” he snapped, clearly through with shock and going onto anger. “He knows me and he knows him and he knows we’re _just_ friends!” he spat angrily.

“Probably the same reason your mom thought you two were secretly dating for about the first six months, Adam-“

“But it’s been two years now, not the first six months!” Adam snapped.

Neil gaped. “You got married to Tommy?!” he asked shrilly and Adam shot him a dirty look. “What?! That made it obvious there, mom asked me if you guys were secretly dating at the beginning,” he said and Adam whined.

“Sutan knows us both and knows we’re _not_! He let us get married out of his own stupidity and now because of a stupid law, apparently this can’t be undone and now everybody knows!” he whined. “Tommy’s going to hate me, I just know it.”

Neil cringed. “I want to crack the obvious joke but I don’t have it in me,” he said honestly, putting a hand on Adam’s back comfortingly.

Adam just smiled weakly. “Wow, something is actually too serious for a smart-assed Neil remark?” he asked and Neil just gave him a smile.

“Yeah, my brother’s mental state,” he said and Adam smiled at him gratefully, looking back at his coffee for a while as he let Lane work her magic to do whatever she could.


	3. Chapter 3

Adam was barely on the bus when Tommy came stomping out of the back. “WELL FUCK YOU TOO,” he shouted at his phone, shocking everybody who had been distracted by Neil’s arrival. Tommy pushed his hair back and looked up, flushing. “Fuck, sorry guys,” he said weakly, then smiled. “Neil!” he said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

Adam bit his lip. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

Tommy nodded, only to stop when he saw Adam looking at him. “Not really,” he admitted and Adam sighed, sitting down, putting his face in his hands. 

“Everything’s fucked now, isn’t it?” he asked weakly.

Monte frowned. “What happened?” he asked.

Lane bit her lip. “TMZ happened.”

Tommy walked over and sat beside Adam. “Adam, no,” he said, grabbing his hand to wiggle out of his own hair before he gave himself split ends. “Adam, look at me,” he said and Adam looked up. “We’ll deal with this,” he said and Adam gave him a long look.

“Who were you fighting with?”

Tommy flinched. “My sister.”

Adam sat up. “What? Why?” he asked quietly, lacing their fingers together on his lap.

“She just…” he shrugged. “She was so pissed she has to hear about her baby brother being married and not to mention, to a man, from a coworker and she was just-“ he sighed. “She was pissed and she blamed me. And she picked a fight. And she thinks I’ve been lying to them all and she told me I could take my lies and shove them up my ass and I just… she wouldn’t believe me and she said mom’s crying because I didn’t even tell my own mother I was gay and she won’t believe me,” he said in a weak rush. “I need to call mom to straighten things out but I just… I don’t feel up to it.”

Adam sighed. “My mom thought you and I were dating for the longest,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Yeah, she told me.” He looked up. “You talked to her and your dad yet?” he asked.

Adam shook his head. “I need to but I’m letting Lane run damage control first. I just turned off my phone,” he said weakly and Tommy sighed.

“Me too.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy came into Adam’s ‘room’ at the back of the bus and jumped onto the bed beside where he was hunched over. “My mom gave me the ‘Thomas Joseph Ratliff, I’m so disappointed in you’ speech, and it totally bl-“ Tommy stopped as he sat that Adam was shaking. “Adam?”

“I’m- I’m _scum_ ,” Adam whispered weakly, shuddering when Tommy put a hand on his shoulder.

Tommy frowned. “No you’re not, what the fuck?” he demanded, pushing at Adam until he looked up, only to freeze as he saw the tight, drawn look on Adam’s face. 

“I’ve- everybody’s been- been calling me and texting me and-“

“Adam, ignore the assholes,” Tommy started, only to be cut off by Adam shaking his head.

“They’re all going on about how-how I’m such a good role model and how someone with as much of a voice in the mainstream as I have, and how someone who has always been so strong and outspoken and positive on the gay community getting married is just- just another step in proving to middle America that we’re not all freaks and fuck ups and- and-“ he sniffled. “And it’s all a _lie_ ,” he whispered, looking up at Tommy with tears in his eyes. “My mom- she was going on about how much damage this was going to do not just to me but to- to people everywhere because when we get this all annulled it’ll just be more fuel for fucking homophobes about how gay people can’t have lasting relationships and good marriages and- and I’m going to make it that much harder for everybody and- and it’s all on _me_ -“ Tommy felt his throat shut as Adam dissolved into tears, shoulders shaking as he cried. Tommy had never seen Adam truly cry. He’d got teared up over movies and stuff, but he had never seen the strongest person he’d ever met truly break down.

Tommy quickly wrapped his arms around the larger man, holding him as he cried. He, too, thought about everything Adam had just said and thought about how much of an influence what they had done would have on so many more people than just the two of them. He quickly felt a heavy burden of guilt as he thought about how visible Adam was in the mainstream media and what example they would be showing the world. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but he knew in his heart his choice was already made. “Adam, look at me,” he said, and Adam lifted his head. Tommy flinched when he saw the tears on his face. “Shhh,” he reached out, swiping his thumbs under Adam’s eyes. “Adam,” he said, reaching between them to take Adam’s hands in his. “We should go along with it,” he said softly.

Adam blinked. “What?”

Tommy nodded. “Look, what you said is sort of true, okay? If we just brush this shit off it’s going to look really bad. Really, really bad,” he pointed out and Adam swallowed thickly. “I don’t know about you but I don’t have any intentions of getting into a relationship at this point in my life, and if going into this and giving it a shot for at least a while can help anybody, I’m okay with that,” he said.

Adam sniffled. “But Tommy… I can’t ask you to do that,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re not gay-“

“Yeah, I’m not offering to keep my end of the marriage deal in a X-rated fashion, but at least for the public we can put on a happy married couple face and try and be positive media, okay?” he suggested.

Adam blinked. “But what about like… I know you don’t want anything serious, but you still date occasionally. If we do this marriage thing, that’s kinda too risky cause if someone with a camera sees you out with a woman, then you’ll be labeled a cheater and that’s no good either,” he pointed out. “I’m just being logical, Tommy. Marriage is fucking serious and we went into it cause we were drunk and it sounded fun,” he said bitterly. “Or, I mean, what if I meet someone? I know we’re doing this marriage thing for show but I do want to get married one day, for real, and like… all of the good ‘settled down’ bullshit that you hate and that sort of won’t happen if I’m fake-married to you,” he pointed out.

Tommy shrugged. “Let’s give it a year, okay? We’ll give this a year keep Lane looking into annulment. She said that an annulment is obtainable for three years, so we give it a year and then just… we’ll pull something about an amicable split and call it that, okay? I mean, like you said, marriages are hard and a lot of people don’t make it. It won’t shock anybody, you know?” he said. “It doesn’t take an asshole breakup to end a marriage, you know this better than I do,” he pointed out. 

Adam sighed. “You can say I’m overbearing like my mother or something,” he said and Tommy smiled. “Are we really doing this? Because if we are, we need to tell everybody now that this is what we’re deciding and then anybody who doesn’t know the whole story yet, we play along,” he said.

Tommy nodded. “Do you have your ring still?” he asked.

Adam nodded. “Yeah, yours still in your bag?” he asked and Tommy nodded too. “Okay well… let’s do this,” he said, then smiled. “Thank you,” he said earnestly. “So much.”

Tommy grinned. “You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met, Adam. Don’t you ever doubt that I would do anything you need me to,” he said, leaning in to kiss his forehead. “And no matter what happens, we’re in this together.”

Adam giggled. “Now you’ve got me singing High School Musical you little shit,” he said and Tommy groaned.

“I take it back, I’d never marry someone with such shitty taste-“

“Oh fuck off,” Adam said, laughing as they stood up to go make the announcement to everybody on the bus.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“So let me get this straight,” Sutan said, holding up a hand. “You’re going to stay married and just… go with it?” he asked.

Adam nodded. “We’ve decided it’s the best thing to do and it won’t look so bad. We can give it a year and then we can call it an amicable split and just… have it annulled. Those photos on TMZ make it clear as hell we’re drunk off our asses and those won’t suddenly disappear within the next year,” he pointed out. “It’s all for the best.” 

Tommy nodded. “Anybody who doesn’t already know it wasn’t exactly what Sutan thought, spur of the moment elopement, gets told exactly that.”

Neil groaned. “So we’re related now?! Oh God I’ll never get rid of you!” he said dramatically and Tommy grinned.

“Brothers!” he said gleefully, earning a laugh from Adam.

“Leave him alone, Tommy, he puts up with a lot for us,” he chastised and Tommy smiled genuinely.

“Oh I know, I wouldn’t bug him if I didn’t’ like him,” he said, shrugging. “The only thing is I’ve already got the images in my head of your mom when she finds out we’re going for it, dude,” he said. “Leila will demand a wedding,” he said with a dramatically horrified face.

Adam sighed dreamily. “I know, it’s the best part!” he said and Tommy shot him a look. “I want a perfect wedding. I wasn’t planning on it being fake but when we’re off tour, we’re having a big-ass wedding with fucking white doves if I want them,” he said firmly and Tommy snickered.

“White doves?”

“AND magnolia petals,” he said resolutely.

Neil sighed. “And now I have a big sister,” he said with a wicked grin that Tommy returned. “Good luck, buddy,” he said and Tommy shrugged.

“Eh, I’ve put up with him for two years, I can deal with another,” he said, smiling at Adam, who pouted.

“And sequined bows in the flower girl’s hair,” he added weakly.

“Whatever you want, Babyboy,” Tommy reassured, grabbing his hand to squeeze.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The news was clearly the biggest topic for everybody to discuss. Even people who had never heard of Tommy Ratliff knew his face after it came out he had married Adam Lambert. Tommy was used to his face on the internet but to see his face on the television was new.

It was a month of touring after their marriage came out where they successfully wormed their ways out of making any really open and deep remarks, choosing to keep things as non-personal as they could, but the last show back in Los Angeles meant a final sit-down interview, Adam and Tommy together, to talk about their secret relationship and their spontaneous elopement.

“This is weird,” Tommy fidgeted, biting at his nails awkwardly as he waited with Adam for them to be lead in to be interviewed. “I mean, is it always like this?” he asked curiously.

Adam smiled. “Yeah, I’m used to it by now,” he said, then leaned over next to Tommy and held out his phone, snapping a picture. He looked at it and at the stupid face Tommy had pulled and giggled. “That was for twitter,” he said and Tommy shrugged.

“They all know what I look like,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“And they all have to be wondering what the fuck I thought by marrying such an idiot,” he teased, earning a snicker from Tommy.

Before Tommy could reply, they were called in. It was a radio interview but there was a camera set up to go on the live web feed as well. Tommy was clearly nervous so Adam took pity on him and laced their fingers together after they’d sat down, smiling at him supportively after they did introductions with the people in the studio.

“Alright, we’re here with Adam Lambert and his husband, Tommy Ratliff, everybody,” the man, Steven, said. “So, we’ve had you in before, Adam,” he started and Adam smiled.

“Yeah, about a year ago. We were at the end of my first tour,” he said with a nod.

“Now,” the lady, Ginny, started. “You way we, and that’s right, Tommy, you’re in his band, aren’t you?” she asked.

Tommy took a breath. “Yeah, I’ve been in his band since his first album came out,” he agreed.

She smiled. “You’re the one from the infamous first television performance, aren’t you?” she asked and Tommy snickered.

“Yeah, that’s me, I’m the keyboardist most people couldn’t tell the gender of, even if I haven’t played that instrument for a show since,” he said with a small smile.

“So obviously, you’ve just come off tour, but the big news, the one we’re all here for,” Steven started. “Surprise marriage,” he said and Adam smiled at Tommy, who squeezed his fingers. “What’s all this about?” he asked.

“Well,” Adam started. “It was really spur of the moment and spontaneous. And we were a little under the influence,” he admitted. “We probably would’ve thought about our families and people’s reactions if we hadn’t been partying already, but at the time it seemed so romantic,” he admitted.   
Tommy nodded. “It was just a joke, someone said ‘hey you should get married’ because it’s Quebec, everybody always jokes about gay couples eloping in Quebec, you know?” he said, shrugging. “But to us at the time that sounded like a great idea, so we just… did,” he said and Adam nodded.

Ginny smiled. “Aww. But afterwards there wasn’t any announcement or even any news of it for a week until the press leaked the story,” she said.

“Well, we sobered up and realized we hadn’t spoken to our families about it and our friends and it was best to take care of all of that before letting it get out, you know?” Adam said. “Nobody expected it, nobody was prepared for it. I mean, it was as spontaneous as you can get, really,” he admitted.

“Right,” Steven interrupted. “But the question we all have is how long were you guys hiding your relationship? Obviously, it’s been said from day one after that televised kiss that it was just a gimmick and that Tommy’s straight and any relationship has been denied.”

Adam started to speak but Tommy spoke first. “Because it was at first. I was really straight, we really were just friends and band mates, and it really was all just for show,” he explained. “It was for the whole first tour as well.”

“So when did you realize you’re not really straight and when did it become real?” Ginny asked and Tommy, again, spoke.

“Well, that’s part of why it’s so sudden,” he admitted. “It was obvious after so long on tour I had grown less interested in someone’s gender than who they were in any case. I mean, I could easily appreciate how some of the other guys on tour were pretty damn cute too, you know?” he said in his ‘I’m a sweet little boy, love me’ voice that Adam knew well was nearly always used for evil. “And we got off tour and Adam brought home a boy,” he said and Adam blinked, turning to look at Tommy. They hadn’t discussed this part before. 

“And they were dating here and there and long distance for a few months. Then when Adam went back into writing mode and went into the studio, the guy stayed here for a while and I was just ready for him to be gone,” he said. “I didn’t have a problem with him, he was a great guy, but when he was here I got so much less time with my best friend,” he said, then gave the interviewers (and the camera) a shy little lip-bit and a shrug. “And by early this summer I’d pretty much realized why I was so jealous wasn’t entire all about having time with my best friend. When he left and went back home, I kinda got sort of sneaky and started testing the waters with Adam to see if maybe there was any signals he might see me as more than a friend to.” Tommy shrugged. “He didn’t _act_ on anything but I started getting the idea he was sort of seeing me the way I was seeing him and eventually I realized that boyfriend hadn’t been back in a while and things just… developed,” he said, giving them his sweetest look.

“So you two have only been together since summer started and you married in October?” Ginny asked.

Adam took over once again. “Yeah, once again, you sort of see the reason we were kind of ashamed of rushing into it without even talking to our families. They weren’t expecting anything so soon,” he finished.

“Do you guys think it was too rushed and that you may have jumped the gun?” She asked.

“No,” Tommy said, and Adam smiled at him, rubbing his thumb across Tommy’s knuckles.

Adam nodded. “No way,” he said, nodding at Tommy. “I mean, we’re not overemotional teenager rushing into something or anything like that. We’ve both been in the game long enough to know love from attraction, you know? I mean, he’s thirty and I’ll be thirty soon, and we’ve both been in relationships that were good and relationships that were just fun. We’ve both been in love and had it blow up before. We both knew from the start that what we have is different. It’s-“

“Real,” Tommy said and Adam smiled brightly at him, an expression Tommy returned. “And it’s not as difficult as it could be,” he added. “I mean, there’s no distances to deal with because most of the time, anywhere he goes I’m with him on tour and when he’s off doing promotional stuff without the band, it’s never for long. And we see each other every day at work so it’s not like we would get suspicious about there being something else going on we’re not seeing.”

“Exactly. We have something real and we don’t have to worry about the usual fears and complications that most musicians have to deal with when it comes to significant others, so no, we don’t regret eloping, we just wish we’d have thought it through and maybe waited to really get married with our families and friends all there,” Adam said sweetly.

The interview continued, but Adam and Tommy felt more relieved now that their ‘story’ was out and they only had to sit back and let the internet do its work.


	4. Chapter 4

To keep up the charade, Tommy moved in with Adam. It was expected, but what wasn’t expected was when they stopped to really think about living together. “Um, do you want me to take the spare room?” Tommy asked as they were unpacking all the boxes Tommy’s friends had abandoned them with.

Adam looked up from his box of DVDs he was unloading and blinked. “I haven’t thought about it,” he admitted. He bit his lip. “Do you want to? I mean, we’re married and I don’t want a friend to come over and wonder why there’s no spare room cause my husband lives in there,” he offered.

Tommy shrugged. “I just wondered if you wanted somewhere you could have privacy from me. I mean, I know I can get pretty annoying sometimes. I’d want somewhere to hide away from me,” he pointed out. “But if you want to share, that’s fine. I mean, we’ve shared a bed plenty and your bed’s big,” he pointed out.

Adam nodded, smiling. “Yeah, we can share my room,” he said, then bit his lip. “Our room,” he corrected.

Tommy snickered at him. “You’re enjoying this,” he accused and Adam shrugged.

“It’s fun, you know? I mean, we’re like undercover spies or something. I mean, we’re living a cover and we’re doing it well. Plus, I get to be married and figure out what it’s like, just without the sex,” he said pointedly.

Tommy chuckled. “I’m sure there’s more than just sex that makes actual marriage different from us. I mean, generally you’re in love with your husband or wife and usually you’re in it planning on forever, not just a year,” he pointed out.

Adam shrugged. “I know, but for the basics, you’re basically my best friend and we’re going to be living together and sharing our life together. Isn’t that basically what marriage is about? Sharing a life with someone you trust and love? Most married couples are each other’s best friends so in a way we’re close enough,” he said, smiling. “I mean, like you said, the whole passionately in love part isn’t there, but the basic idea is what I mean,” he clarified.

Tommy smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is sort of fun,” he agreed.

“Besides!” Adam said brightly. “I’ve never had a roommate I wasn’t in a relationship with so this is new for me. You’re used to this roommates thing but it sounds fun to me.”

Tommy grinned. “Well at least you’re enthusiastic about our married life,” he said, then stood up with a box. “So, now that we’re living together, come find space in your closet for my clothes,” he said and Adam blinked.

“Oh shit now I see a problem,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Don’t mind sharing your bed, but oh God not the closet,” he teased, then nudged him until he got up and went with him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy looked up and glanced over at Adam, who was on his laptop. “Adam, have you talked to your mom about the whole ‘wedding’ thing?” he asked.

Adam nodded, clicking something before lifting his head. “Yeah, but she wants to put it off until after thanksgiving and Hanukah,” he said. “There will be so many distant relatives visiting my mom for the holidays.”

Tommy nodded. “Well, make sure you start reserving your white doves early,” he teased and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Come on, for all you know this might be the only wedding you have-“

“I don’t plan on getting married again, so it sort of is-“

“MY POINT!” Adam cut him off. “Is that you should enjoy this,” he said with a smile. “Don’t you want your rock star wedding?” he asked.

Tommy looked at him flatly. “I’m still hoping there’s a planning crush and it’s a small wedding,” he pointed out.

Adam sighed. “No fun at all,” he said, shaking his head. “You should think about best man and shit anyways,” he pointed out.

Tommy snickered. “Taylor was my best man first time,” he said and Adam shot him a look. “No, I don’t know… maybe Mike,” he suggested. “Or maybe Mia can be my best man,” he said and Adam snickered.

“Maid of honor,” he teased.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Well then, high and mighty, who’s yours going to be?” he asked.

Adam bit his lip. “I’m actually debating between Neil and my dad,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Good choices,” he said, then smirked. “Let them out smart-ass each other for it,” he said. “Cause seriously, when I met Neil, I instantly knew where he got it from.”

Adam laughed. “That’s what I always hear. They say I’m just like my mom and Neil’s just like my dad.”

Tommy nodded again. “Leila is the sweetest person alive and so are you,” he said and Adam grinned.

“You really do need to take a closer look at me sometimes, Glitterbaby,” he suggested and Tommy shook his head, laying his head on Adam’s shoulder tiredly.

“You’re an amazing person, Adam. I wouldn’t be going through this with anybody else, I promise you that,” he said and Adam grinned, kissing his cheek.

“You’re the best person I could imagine being in this situation with.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy grinned as he flipped through twitter. He looked up when Adam came in from getting ready to leave. “Don’t get mobbed on the streets,” he teased, holding up to show Adam.

Adam smiled. “They love us,” he said, reaching out to scroll down. “Aww, not even half as many ‘die fag’ tweets as happy supportive ones!” he said brightly and Tommy nodded.

“They want us to know they all love us and are proud of us and there’s tons on here about how we’re inspirations to them and shit,” he said, smiling up at Adam. 

Adam nodded. “We did the right thing,” he said and Tommy nodded.

“Definitely.” Adam stood up and walked over to grab his bag from beside the coffee table. “You gone?” Tommy asked.

Adam nodded. “Yeah, more press about the tour resuming in January and stuff,” he explained. “Telling our ‘story’ again, talking about the shows, being a rock star,” he joked and Tommy grinned.

“Alright. I’ll probably be out when you get back. I’ve got a show tonight and you’ll probably be asleep by the time I’m back,” Tommy reminded him and Adam nodded, looking around for his sunglasses.

“Who with? Monte or Ravi?” he asked.

Tommy grinned. “Ravi and he totally owes me fifty bucks, so chances are I’ll come home with a black eye and an extra hundred when I win the fight and Isaac owes me his money from that bet,” he said.

Adam shot him a dark look. “You better not get in a fight, TommyJoe. I’ll get shit about my husband being a hoodlum,” he chastised, then sighed, standing up. “Alright, I’m gone. Be good, baby,” he said, waving as he walked out.

“Bye, Adam!”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy leaned closer to the mirror, touching up his lip gloss, only to raise an eyebrow when Isaac walked up, looking at his hair in the mirror beside him. “Get out of my mirror bitch,” he teased and Isaac scoffed.

“Fuck you,” he said, then nudged him. “So anyways, I’ve been sent to get you by two of the _hottest_ chicks in the club while reminding myself that I’m a happily married man and that my wife is at home waiting for me,” he said, and Tommy grinned.

“Poor, poor Isaac,” he teased, batting his eyelashes. He shrugged, sighing. “But honestly, I can’t return hot chick flirting dude,” he said shrugging. “Wish I could.”

“Dude, you’re not really married, you know,” he pointed out in a voice low in case someone heard them in one of the bathroom stalls.

Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, but like Adam said when I told him to stop bitching about not getting any and go pick up a boy last week, if one of us gets caught out in compromising positions, that really fucks up the image we stuck with this shit to create, you know? We’re not faking happy marriage for shits and giggles, we’re doing it to cover our asses and getting labeled ‘adulterer’ isn’t covering my ass,” he pointed out.

“True,” Isaac said, then snickered. “Sucks, cause they’re both really fucking hot.”

Tommy just rolled his eyes and then walked out to join the rest of the band.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy was somewhat shocked at how quickly domesticity sat in. Tommy’s family rarely did anything for thanksgiving, but when he’d agreed to go with Adam to his family’s thanksgiving, since his parents and Neil were the only ones who knew he was a fake-husband, they spent an entire week planning on what to bring and coaching Tommy on how to behave around his relatives, especially his grandparents.

As they were getting in the car, Adam pointed a finger. “And remember that my grandmother is so fucking Jewish she breaks out in Yiddish sometimes and still bitches at my mother for not raising me and Neil more religiously,” he emphasized. “She’s going to hate you, you’re going to hate her, and if you make one smartass remark about religion, I won’t stop her from beating you with her cane and I’ll _film it_ on my phone and post Tommy Joe Ratliff getting beaten by a tiny ninety year old lady with a cane on the internet,” he threatened with wild eyes that actually made Tommy flinch.

“Don’t make Jew-jokes, got it,” he replied and Adam glowered. “Adam, really, I won’t give your old granny a heart attack. I’ll try and be as nice and polite as I can. Hell, maybe she’ll like me if I do the puppy impression well enough,” he defended.

Adam sighed. “Oh God I hope so,” he said, putting the car into gear.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy had never felt more intimidated in his life than he did as he was scrutinized by possibly the tiniest, feeblest old lady he’d ever seen under the amused eye of the rest of Adam’s family. She looked at him long and hard then hummed. “Looks like a girl,” she said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“That’s not very nice, Grandma,” he said, and Neil snickered behind him. “Shut up,” Adam said, shoving him lightly.

“Well he does, Adam!” she said, looking over at her grandsons. “And shut up, Neil, at least he brought somebody home. When’re you gonna make me a great-grandmother?” she asked and Tommy bit his lip to fight back a laugh. “I’m not gonna be around forever, kid, and as much as this one looks like a girl,” Tommy whimpered when she whacked him on the side with her cane. “I’m not getting great-grandkids out of him.”

“Mom that’s enough,” Leila said, looking embarrassed as Tommy gave her ‘help me’ eyes. “Let’s go get you a drink, mom. Get you off your feet,” she said and Tommy let out the breath he’d been holding when she finally walked away.

It wasn’t until she and two other equally ancient people shuffled out after Leila and one of Adam’s cousins that both Neil and Eber, who had been the one Adam was greeting when Tommy had be waylaid by Grandma, burst into laughter and practically hung off each other. “Tommy, you need to check your pants?” Neil choked out and Eber doubled over.

“Oh God, and I thought she’d spend another thanksgiving bitching about me!” Eber said and Tommy gave them angry glares.

Adam huffed. “Shut up, assholes,” he said, then walked over to Tommy, who gave him a look similar to a kicked puppy. “Aww, it’s okay, TommyJoe,” he said, squeezing his hand. “Maybe she’ll lay off now?” he said and Neil snorted.

“Mom and dad have been divorced for ten years and she still gives him shit about it every thanksgiving,” he pointed out. “It got to the point about three years ago that we almost started having separate thanksgiving celebrations for mom and dad’s sides of the family,” he pointed out. 

Eber nodded with a smirk. “And I finally fall through the cracks,” he said, walking over to smack Tommy on the back. “I pass my torch to you, son,” he said dramatically and Tommy glared.

“I’ve told Adam this a billion times, but you are where Neil gets it,” he hissed and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Alright, dear God, the men in my life are all insane,” he said, grabbing Tommy’s hand to drag him after him. “Come on, Glitterbaby, time to meet my cousins,” he said and Tommy just sighed, ducking his head as Adam dragged him around like a new accessory rather than a husband.

Tommy met quite a few fellow adults, but Adam clearly had it in for him when he introduced him last to a pair of girls who couldn’t be but about fifteen or sixteen, both of which squealed when they saw him. “Oh my God he’s so cute!” One cried, rushing over to hug Adam while the other snatched Tommy away, hugging him excitedly. “Adam, you picked a pretty one,” she said, then shoved him at the other. “Look at him, he’s so cute!” 

“Uh, hi I’m Tommy?” he offered as he was being passed around for free hugs. He looked up at Adam for help only to see him grinning evilly at him. “You-“ he started only to be cut off when the girls started chattering.

“So this is what Grandma meant when she was talking about being overrun by goyim!” the one clinging to Tommy said, then passed him back, almost like he was a new puppy, not their cousin’s husband.

“Um, girls, can you stop just throwing me around, I’m gonna barf,” he said shrilly only to suddenly be shoved away amid twin shrieks. “Good,” he said, straightening his clothes. “And what’s a goyim?” he asked curiously.

Adam snickered. “A non-Jew is a goy,” he explained. “She was just bitching about you not being a good Jewish boy,” he said, shrugging.

Tommy snorted. “I’ll tell that old bat where she can stick her-“ Adam glared and kicked him lightly, making him stop. “Um, never mind?” he offered and Adam sighed.

“We’re leaving as soon as possible, I promise,” he informed Tommy solemnly. “Come on, let’s meet the other grandparents, get this dinner over with, and then go home,” he said, dragging Tommy away to another room.


	5. Chapter 5

Once they were finally in the car, Adam chuckled as he saw the look of someone about to burst on Tommy’s face. “Alright, get it out-“

“OH MY GOD I HATE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!” he shouted, then cringed. “Sorry, I mean… she’s your grandma and I know that but-“

Adam laughed. “It’s okay. She’s like a walking stereotype of an old Jewish lady, I know,” he said sympathetically.

“She just kept saying shit to me I didn’t understand and calling me things in Yiddish I’m pretty sure were all bad-“

“They were,” Adam confirmed.

“And she kept _staring_ like I was a freak and hinting about how disappointed in your choice in husband she was and it was terrifying and I think she called me a heathen at least twenty times-“

“Well you are,” Adam pointed out gently and Tommy just whined.

“But she was mean and I don’t like her one bit,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Adam smiled. “I know,” he said and Tommy deflated.

“What I don’t get is how me being a girly looking non-Jew is so horrible to her but she doesn’t seem to care at all that you married me,” he pointed out. “Why not bitch at you for picking the girly heathen?” he asked.

Adam grinned. “Because I’m her grandbaby and she loves me and she’s proud of me,” he said, grinning. “She’s a grandmother. Grandmothers think their grandkids can do no wrong, you know?” he pointed out.

Tommy sighed. “God, you have a Stepford family in some ways but in other ways they’re all completely insane,” he pointed out. 

Adam laughed. “How so?” he asked, indicating as he turned down a street.

“Well, they all love you and adore you and think ‘oh, Adam is the most perfect baby ALIVE’, which is so Stepford of them, but then they’re all batshit insane! Like the cousins tossing me around like a doll, not a grown man,” he pointed out. “And another Stepford thing, how do you have both sides of your family together for a holiday when your parents have been divorced for years and you and Neil are grown men, not kids they need to put on a show for?” He paused and then added, “Without fighting.”

Adam smiled. “I have a great family, Tommy. I would never be half the man I am today if I hadn’t had so much love and support growing up,” he said pointedly. “I am lucky to have such an amazing life, you know?” he said with a smile in Tommy’s direction. “And even you have to admit that the whole experience wasn’t too bad. Grandma wasn’t too harsh with the non-Jew part since it’s a secular holiday,” he pointed out.

Tommy just shook his head. “I’m amazed you can sit there and listen to her bring her being a Jew into everything she does, though,” he pointed out. “That would drive me crazy.”

Adam chuckled. “I’ve dealt with her my whole life, I’m just used to it. Besides, I bring music into almost everything in my whole life, not that different, is it?” he said pointedly.

Tommy spluttered. “Music’s something real though. I mean, sitting there listen to her call me a bad choice in husband because I don’t believe that shit she does is so fucking ridiculous,” he said, miming strangling someone mid-air. “You know all that shit she believes is so fucking fake and yet it doesn’t kill you to put up with it?”

Adam sighed. “Tommy all ‘that shit she believes’ is the shit I believe to, you know? You could be less of an ass about my family,” he said pointedly, clearly losing his patience.

Tommy frowned. “Wait, you actually believe all that crap?” he asked incredulously.

Adam groaned. “No, Tommy, not everything in life revolves around being Jewish like it does to her and of course you’re not a shitty choice of husband because you’re not a good Jewish girl like she’d want for me, but it’s still getting kind of annoying for you to just slam my grandmother like that, you know?” he pointed out.

Tommy waved a hand. “No, I mean all the religious crap. I mean, I barely knew your family was Jewish, it was a passing mention, so I figured it was just not a thing with you. Do you actually believe in that religion bullshit?” he asked in confusion.

Adam sighed, shaking his head. “No, I’m not big on religion, but it’s how I was raised, okay? We weren’t as devout as my grandmother would like but my mom did actually make sure me and Neil were brought up Jewish and we did practice the religion. Even if I don’t really even think about all the religious aspects of it, in my heart of hearts, I’ll always be Jewish,” he pointed out. “So yeah, you’re getting annoying,” he pointed out.

Tommy just stared. “You don’t actually believe in a god-“

“I do actually believe in God, Tommy, and I’d like for you to drop this,” Adam said in a warning tone.

Tommy just snorted. “How can you believe in a floaty force that, by all points and purposes, is going to send us both to hell for all eternity?” he asked incredulously.

Adam sighed, realizing Tommy wasn’t shutting up. “Judaism doesn’t believe in hell, Tommy. Its focus is on life, not death,” he said in an exasperated tone. “And I told you, I’m not really religious. I don’t think God gives a damn what we think or do as long as we’re good people and feel sorry for anything bad we do slip up and do,” he said simply.

“Adam, how the fuck can you honestly believe in a god that makes the world such a fucked up place? A kind and loving god wouldn’t make murders and rapists and republicans-“ Adam laughed. “And besides, science has basically disproved the existence of a higher power anyways. Any logical person would just believe in science, not a sick fucker who likes to make the world suck this bad,” he said with a pointed wave.

Adam bit his lip. “Tommy, I respect your beliefs, I promise I do, but don’t make it seem like I’m some ignorant bastard just because I don’t share your beliefs, okay?” He gave him a short look, then turned back. “Besides, science can’t explain everything. Any person knows there are things that simply cannot be explained away by facts and logic.”

“Like what?” Tommy asked curiously.

“Human emotions? Is that a good enough example?” he asked. “Explain that one, Tommy? I really don’t care that you don’t believe in religion or a higher power or anything like that, and I respect your beliefs on science explaining everything, but don’t try and convince me there isn’t a higher power,” he said softly. He looked at him. “Your being an asshole about proving God isn’t real is no different than those assholes that try and shove God down your throat, Tommy. Can we please just drop this?” he asked.

Tommy bit his lip and nodded. “I’m sorry about being an asshole about it. I didn’t know it really bothers you.”

“It doesn’t, I just don’t like you trying to push your beliefs about NOT believing on people. Especially when you try and tell me, the most spiritual fucker you possibly know, that everything’s scientific. Love and friendship isn’t scientific, you know? It’s emotional and from the heart and in your _soul_.”Adam shrugged. “I simply can’t believe in a complete absence of a higher power because that means we have no souls. Love and friendships and compatibility aren’t science.”

Tommy shrugged. “I know I said I’d shut up, but actually attraction and familial bonds and grouping together socially is all explained by natural selection and in evolution and species continuity-“

“Natural selection and species continuity and all that other crap sure as hell can’t explain why I love other boys,” Adam said in a tight voice, clearly signaling the end of the conversation.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The ride home was quiet. When they were getting ready for bed, Tommy came and leaned against the door while Adam washed his face. “Adam… I’m sorry if I went too far in the car. I mean, I don’t want to make you angry,” he said.

Adam smiled. “Tommy, it’s fine,” he said, shrugging. “Like I said, I don’t generally even think about stuff like that. You’re just such a persistent little shit you wouldn’t let it go when I wanted to and it made me a little bitchy,” he said, then shrugged. “But really, it’s okay.”

Tommy smiled. “It was actually nice to meet your family, you know?” he said.

Adam smiled. “Finally see where I get it from,” he joked and Tommy grinned.

“Alright, I ate a lot, it was a long-ass drive, let’s go to bed,” he said with finality and Adam laughed.

“I’ll be there in a minute, you go ahead,” he said and Tommy nodded, turning to go get into bed.

A few minutes later, Adam turned out the lights to the bathroom and came to slide into the bed with Tommy.Tommy rolled over to face him. “You know, technically, that was our first married argument,” he said and Adam smiled sleepily.

“Only without the makeup sex,” he said and Tommy laughed, rolling over with a sigh.

“You’re a dork, Lambert.”

Adam giggled tiredly. “‘S why you love me,” he mumbled as he snuggled down into his pillow, eyes already drifting shut.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They were soon to go on tour and Adam couldn’t _wait_. Living with Tommy Ratliff after he’d stopped acting like he was a visitor, not someone in their own home, was _killing_ him. He was a slob most of the time, only to break the streak occasionally by going on a rampage and cleaning _everything_ that sat still. He moved everything Adam had organized around and reorganized it wrong.

He also kept the smelliest leftovers in the world in the refrigerator so that all of Adam’s food had a hint of onion and peppers in every bite. Tommy was loud, nearly nocturnal, and liked to leave shit laying right where Adam would trip over it. And if Adam bitched about it, Tommy had a passive aggressive streak a mile wide.

Adam sighed happily as he stretched his arms over his head. Danielle had been the one to suggest he start doing some simple yoga over the break in tour to help him just relax, so he tried to take some time to at least do a little every day. It was very calming and relaxing and it did offer a little extra exercise. He was just centering his balance and exhaling when, out of nowhere, his entire sound system suddenly blared loud, horrible, ear-splitting music. 

Adam yelped as it rattled him and he fell over, landing flat on his ass. He groaned, whining. “TOMMY!” he shouted, only to realize there was no way Tommy heard him over the racket coming out of those speakers. He growled and stormed through the house, glaring when he found Tommy standing by the stereo jumping around. “TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!” he shouted and Tommy looked up, raising an eyebrow as he stopped jumping.

“What was that?” he cried.

“TURN IT DOWN!” Adam cried angrily.

Tommy gave him a challenging look and clicked the volume up a few notches until Adam had to hold his ears. “SORRY, I CAN’T HERE YOU!” Tommy shouted, pointing at his ears.

Adam glared, snarling before darting forward. Tommy yelped and rushed around the couch, clicking the volume even higher with the remote as Adam chased him. “BASTARD!” Adam shouted, finally jumping over the couch, landing right in front of Tommy, who startled, dropping the remote in surprise. Adam dove for it, slapping away Tommy’s hand when he tried to stop him, then turned off the stereo, shocking both of them with the silence. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Adam cried angrily.

“I’m just listening to music,” Tommy said with a challenging look in his eyes.

Adam glowered. “I’m trying to fucking relax, listen to your iPod,” he said and Tommy scoffed.

“Look, I want to listen to my music loud and dance around, damn it-“

“NOT SO LOUD IT BLOWS MY EARDRUMS!” Adam cried, then growled, tugging at his own hair. “Damn it, Tommy, you are the most annoying little shit I’ve EVER met!”

“Have you ever tried living with yourself?” Tommy challenged. “Cause trust me, if you think I’m bad-“

“I don’t make the biggest messes in the world and then decide to clean them up at four in the morning when the rest of the world is SANE and sleeping!” Adam cut him off. “I don’t blast death metal or whatever the fuck that was while people are trying to _relax_! You are the reason I need to relax! Living with you is like living with a sixteen year old boy, Tommy, and I’m stressed to the maximum level over your messiness and your loudness and your gross food smelling up the refrigerator and your clothes in my way so I trip over them and- and your friends coming over and drinking all my liquor and you not telling me and stealing my clothes and _moving_ my stuff and I CAN’T TAKE IT!” he shouted, finally stopping with his shoulders heaving as he caught his breath.

Tommy gave him a sheepish look, biting his lip. “I’m sorry,” he said in a small, earnest voice. He shrugged. “I guess I am pretty annoying,” he said and Adam just stared.

“No, you don’t apologize,” he whined, stomping his foot petulantly. “I want to yell more, not have you apologizing!” he admitted.

Tommy bit back a smile and snickered. “Um, okay.” He took a breath. “You, Adam Lambert, are… are… fat!” he said after a moment’s floundering. “Aha!” he said, pointing a finger. “Fat, fat, fat!” he emphasized and Adam just snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Nah, the momentums already broken,” he said sadly, then shot Tommy a look. “And I am not fat,” he defended, poking out his lip playfully.

Tommy cracked a grin and shook his head as he walked over to hug Adam. “No way, dude. You’re fucking hot,” he said, smiling up at Adam, who finally lost his nerve and laughed, shaking his head. 

“Oh TommyJoe,” he sighed, wrapping his arms around Tommy’s shoulders as he looked down at him. “What am I gonna do with you, Glitterbaby?” he asked, looking amused.

Tommy just grinned. “Tell me I’m awesome,” he joked and Adam groaned, putting his hand over Tommy’s face as he pushed him away.

“Oh my God, you lame-ass motherfucker,” he grumbled, turning to walk out. “I’m doing yoga, so fucking be quiet!” he called back as he walked out of the room to the sounds of Tommy’s laughter trailing after him.


	6. Chapter 6

They had just finished rehearsing when Tommy went and flopped down on the couch between Isaac and Monte, head in Isaac’s lap, feet in Monte’s. “Explain something to me,” he started. “Why the hell do people get married?” he asked and they both snorted. “I mean, I realize there are certain parts of being married I’m not getting… mostly involving nudity,” he added and Isaac snickered, shaking his head. “But seriously… I actually have had moments where I wanted to murder my best friend in his sleep,” he said pointedly, then looked up. “Why would you marry somebody if you have moments where you want to put their pillow over their face in the middle of the night and smother them to death?”

“Well for one,” Isaac started. “I love Soph too much to ever hurt her,” he pointed out. “And besides, you have to remember, being married is a partnership. It’s not like dating, it’s like sharing _every_ part of your life, dude. If you don’t seriously love somebody and you’re not ready for it, marriage would probably be hell,” he said.

Tommy sighed. “Great, so basically one of us is going to have to kill the other in the end, got it,” he said with a nod.

Monte snorted. “You lived through a world tour with Adam, living with him at home can’t be much different,” he said and Tommy shot him a look.

“I make a mess, he bitches. I clean up messes, he bitches. I play music, he bitches. I ask him to turn his down, he bitches,” Tommy counted on his fingers. “I argue about watching sappy girly movies, he bitches and yet when I offer him the remote, he bitches that I must’ve broken his stuff to be so considerate,” he said flatly. “All. He. Does. Is. Bitch!” he emphasized. He blinked. “He’s like his grandmother! Only younger and less annoyed that I’m not a girl!” he said in horror.

Monte laughed. “He mentioned his grandmother’s disappointment in his choice of husband,” he teased and Tommy whimpered. “Dude, you’ve lived with roommates your whole adult life, Adam’s just getting used to having someone in his space all the time.”

“We’ve been living together for nearly two months now, dude. It’s getting ridiculous! He _actually_ made me sleep on the couch two nights ago because I spilled his favorite glitter,” he said and Isaac burst out laughing.

“You got put in the doghouse and you’re not even really in a relationship with him!” he said, doubling over as he laughed.

Tommy glowered. “I hate you, have I told you that?”

“TommyJoe, come on.” They all looked up to see Adam walking over, shrugging on his jacket. “We’re going. I’ve got to stop by and pick up some things on the way home, Danielle’s coming over later and we’re having dinner with her,” he said.

Tommy sighed. “But it’s so comfortable,” he whined and Adam shot him a look.

“Tommy, come on, please don’t be difficult.”

“I’m not being difficult, I was just playing! Fuck, Adam,” he groaned, getting up. “Alright, no jokes, got it! Crystal fucking clear-“

“Oh fuck you, Tommy, I’m not in the mood for your bitching-“

“Oh so I can’t bitch but you can? That’s how it is, oh I see now,” Tommy argued and Adam growled.

“No. You are not pissing me off when my friend’s coming over for dinner. Fuck you,” he hissed in a dangerous voice.

“I DIDN’T START IT!” Tommy shouted, catching everybody’s attention. “Jesus Christ, Adam, I made a joke-“

“Fine, I’m walking out, right now. If you’re coming home with me, get in the damn car. If not, fuck off!” Adam shouted back, turning on his heel as he disappeared with a dramatic presence.

Tommy watched him walk off then shrugged. “Ah fuck it, I’ll walk,” he said, going back to flop down back where he was. “Where were we boys?” he asked and Isaac shook his head.

“You two have some serious tension going on. You guys need to seriously sit down and talk,” he said and Tommy made a face.

“Ew, when did you grow ovaries, Isaac?” he asked and Monte laughed.

“He’s got the right idea though, dude. You two are really great friends. Don’t let this fake-marriage ruin that, okay?” he said and Tommy sighed.

“Well… I do miss him being my _friend_ more than my husband,” he admitted reluctantly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam was pacing, unable to eat anything. “Damn it, why won’t he answer his phone?” he whined, hanging up again, arms wrapped around himself as he peeked out to check the front door once again.

Danielle snorted. “Adam, you practically told him not to bother coming home. Chances are he’s crashing with Monte and Lisa,” she said.

Adam sighed. “I’m just worried because he won’t answer my calls or my texts and he knows I don’t like worrying,” he pointed out, going to sit down and make a show of pretending to eat something. “God, all we do is fight lately,” he muttered. “It’s almost like being really married, only without the good parts of marriage,” he pointed out.

Danielle laughed. “Well babe, the thing is, when you’re married, generally it means you love somebody enough that you’re prepared to put up with all their bullshit and deal with them being assholes, cause the good wins over the bad.” She waved her fork. “Marrying your friend is like living with your sibling. Imagine how much worse this would be if you were roommates with Neil,” she pointed out and Adam gaped.

“Ew! First off, Tommy is _not_ like a brother to me. At all.” He shuddered. “You’ve seen me practically eat his face, you do not do that to a brother,” he stressed. “And besides, Neil would totally be annoying on purpose, Tommy’s doing this shit cause it’s his personality and it clashes with mine.”

She smiled. “It’ll be okay, Adam. You guys are really good friends, okay? You two are practically puzzle pieces, you’ve just got to find some way to make yourselves fit together without both of you going crazy. Compromise is good,” she pointed out.

Adam bit his lip. “Right now, I’d forgive him for about anything as long as I didn’t have to worry,” he said, sighing. “Tommy is impulsive. God knows where he is and what he’s doing and I just don’t want him to get hurt,” he said honestly.

She snickered. “Meaning you don’t want him embarrassing his husband,” she teased.

Adam shook his head. “No, actually I didn’t even think of that,” he admitted. “I just… he’s like a puppy, you know? Convinced he’s the baddest fucker around and nothing can touch him, when he’s really a short, skinny little boy with a bigger temper than a brain, you know? I love him to death for it, he’s always sticking up for those he cares about, but the fact of the matter is, if somebody says something to piss him off, he’ll fly off the handle and one day, he’s going to pick a fight with a fucking trucker or something and get himself really hurt,” he emphasized. He shook his head. “I’m calling Monte,” he said softly, then stood up, pacing once again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was one in the morning and Adam was freaking out. Danielle had stuck around because, after Adam had called both Isaac and Monte and they both told him they hadn’t seen or heard from him since he decided to walk all the way home, he was losing it.

Adam had called almost everybody Tommy knew to no avail. Danielle comforted him as he sat there, hands shaking with worry. “Something’s wrong. I know it is. Oh my God, I pissed him off and if something happened it’s my fault!” he squeaked, voice shaky. “Fuck-“

They both froze as the front door shut. Danielle rolled her eyes, but Adam was up in an instant. “Tommy?!” he called, rushing to the hall.

Tommy was just kicking off his boots by the door when Adam got there. “What, come on, I thought this would be over by- OOF!” Tommy was cut off from his exasperated argument as Adam nearly tackled him, hugging him so hard he could barely breathe. “Adam… ADAM! Oxygen!” he wheezed and Adam let go, sighing.

“Oh my God, Tommy, I’ve been so fucking worried,” he said in a rush. “You didn’t answer anything and nobody knew where you were and we were fighting before and I was so scared you’d let your temper get the best of you and you got hurt and oh my God, I’m sorry,” he said, hugging him again. “TommyJoe, I’m so sorry. Please don’t scare me again,” he said, voice cracking slightly.

Tommy pulled away slightly, eyes wide. “Adam, dude, it’s okay,” he said, touching his waist with a soft smile. “My phone died, that’s all,” he said and Adam just sighed.

“Doesn’t matter. Don’t do it again,” he pleaded.

Tommy smiled, hugging Adam again, arms around his middle. “I won’t,” he promised.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy could tell Adam wasn’t asleep on his side of the bed. He was worried there would more fighting once Adam calmed down, but they’d gone to bed without any arguments so he figured he’d gotten lucky. He rolled over, looking at Adam curiously, watching from his pillow as Adam stared at the ceiling pretty hard, clearly not anywhere near sleep. “Adam, are you alright?” he asked softly.

Adam sighed, biting his lip. Tommy watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Yeah, just thinking,” he answered.

Tommy hummed. “What about?” he asked, knowing he was pushing it some.

Adam sighed and rolled over to face Tommy, biting his lip again. “We’ve got to stop fighting,” he said and Tommy smiled sadly. “We fight so much and it’s stupid. We’re best friends, why is living together so hard at home when we’re fine being in each other’s pockets on tour?” he asked.

Tommy shrugged. “I guess on tour it’s not just me and you, it’s everybody. And we’re all working so hard that we get used to all the insanity. At home we’re just us. Here, you’re not Adam Fucking Lambert-“ Tommy made a big dramatic face and Adam giggled softly. “You’re just Adam, the dick who drank the last of the orange juice,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“And you’re not the pretty, glamorous little kitty, you’re just a loud little insomniac,” he countered, then sighed. “I don’t know, I just got so scared tonight,” he admitted. “You have a temper when you’re upset and I just knew when you didn’t answer any calls or texts and nobody knew where you were that you’d gone and got in a fight with someone bigger and stronger than you and gotten really hurt,” he admitted.

Tommy snorted. “Adam, more likely I’d have been drunk somewhere, not laying in a gutter,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Adam said, shaking his head. “You know you’re so important to me, Tommy. Other than our recent fighting a lot, you’re so fun and entertaining and you and I can talk about everything and we usually get along no matter what and I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you,” he said, looking at him with a worried look. “And it would be my fault if I pissed you off and then you went and did something stupid.”

Tommy smiled. “Adam, come on, it wouldn’t be your fault if I got my own ass kicked. I’m not an idiot, you know?” he said and Adam snorted.

“Bullshit-“

“Hey!” Tommy laughed, shoving Adam. “I’m not,” he said. He smiled at Adam before wiggling closer, tugging Adam’s hand into his, holding it under the covers tightly. “And don’t worry, if I plan on being an idiot, I’ll tell you first,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“You’re a shit,” he said, but didn’t pull his hand away, choosing instead to squeeze Tommy’s fingers. “I just don’t want to lose you,” he admitted softly.

Tommy smiled comfortingly. “You won’t, Babyboy,” he promised. “And we’ll get through this fighting bullshit, okay?” he said. “We’ll figure out something because, apart from getting me liquored up and marrying me-“ Adam snorted, rolling his eyes. “Meeting you and being friends with you is kind of the best thing to happen to me,” he admitted.

Adam just sighed. “You’re such a jerk, why do we all love you so much? You’re a mean, annoying little jerk. You must have some fucking magical powers you annoying little shit. No other explanation for why you get away with being such an ass and all of us still adore you,” he teased.

Tommy just laughed, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m just so damn pretty,” he joked, winking.

Adam grinned. “Yeah, you are pretty,” he teased, winking before leaning in to kiss Tommy’s hair. He sighed, squeezing Tommy’s fingers. “Just promise me this won’t end up ruining us,” he said softly. “Ruining out friendship.”

Tommy shook his head. “We’re going to get through this, Adam. We have to, we’re best friends.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy blinked when he got up and headed downstairs only to find Adam, Leila, Sutan, Danielle and his own mother sitting around the dining table with stuff strewn across the table. “The fuck?” he mumbled sleepily, rubbing at his eyes in confusion.

“Tommy, you’re just now getting up? Seriously?” Dia asked and Tommy grunted, turning to walk into the kitchen, which was open to the dining room, only divided by the long counter with barstools on one side. “Son, it’s nearly one,” she said and Adam snorted.

“Tommy’s already been up,” he explained. “Tommy goes to bed usually around the time I do, wakes up in the middle of the night and does random stuff until dawn, then comes back to bed to sleep again,” he explained.

Danielle snickered. “Lazy little shit!” she teased and Tommy simply flipped her the bird behind his back, not even bothering to look away from the refrigerator he was scanning.

“Adam, did you eat the take-out chicken stuff I had left in here?” he asked, pushing things around.

Adam sighed. “It had been in there for like three days, Tommy. I threw it out yesterday,” he explained.

Tommy sighed. “Adam, I’ve told you, unless it’s growing mold, it’s edible!” he said and Adam shuddered.

“You’re gross and going to die of e coli you little shit,” Adam said, then stood up, walking over. “We’ve got real food that can be cooked if you want. We ate lunch already but I can fix you something,” he offered. “I mean, we’ve got plenty of fresh vegetables and stuff-“

Tommy shook his head, coming back from the pantry. “Ramen,” he said, smiling as he shook a packet of chicken flavored ramen noodles. “I’m good,” he offered and Adam just stared at him.

“We’ve got all this fresh food and you’re eating noodles and meat powder?!” he asked incredulously and Tommy nodded. “Do you know what kind of sodium and preservatives-“

“Yes, Adam, I do,” Tommy said as he got out a pot and put water in it. “That’s _flavor_. Something you probably don’t remember, you rabbit,” he said and Adam snorted.

“Healthy food has plenty of flavor-“

“Not good ones,” Tommy argued. “Salt and trans-fats and all kinda of yummy cholesterol and carbs and saturated fat- oh the saturated fat tastes sooo good,” Tommy sighed dramatically.

Adam snorted. “You’re insane-“

Tommy cut him off by turning around with the open package, flapping the open end like a mouth. “EAAATTT MEE, ADAM! EAAAT ME!” he said in a high, creepy voice. “I TAASSTEE GOOOD-“ 

“You’re such a dick,” Adam exclaimed, grabbing Tommy’s wrists to stop him, only to find it was pointless because Tommy cracked up, collapsing against his chest, shoulders heaving. “Healthy food makes me feel better-“

“Bullshit,” Tommy said point-blank. “Fat makes you feel good. Ice cream and chocolate cake and cookies make you feel good. Health food makes you feel like a hippie,” he said. “I’m going to microwave some of the chips-ahoy in the pantry after this just to make up for you leaving them all alone and abandoned in there rather than in your tummy where they belong,” he said and Adam groaned.

“Nooo… you’re making me want cookies,” he whined, sliding his arms around Tommy’s shoulders as he looked down at him. He bit his lip. “Chewy Chips Ahoy?” he asked and Tommy nodded.

“Of course!” 

Adam groaned longingly. “I want them,” he whined and Tommy smiled, arms around Adam’s waist. “You’re a dick.”

“I’m trying to make you _live_ , Babyboy, LIVE!” He smacked him on the cheek. “Eating health food isn’t living, it’s existing.”

Adam slumped, pouting as he knocked his head against Tommy’s. “Are you trying to make me fat?” he asked with a pout.

Tommy grinned, bumping his forehead against Adam’s. “Get off me, I’m hungry. Go eat a carrot or something, hippie,” he said, shoving Adam off.

Adam sighed. “Now I want cookies and ice cream,” he moaned dramatically.

“Then eat them!” Tommy stressed and Adam glowered.

“We’re actually planning our wedding over here. Even more of a reason to _not_ suddenly put on ten pounds,” he pointed out.

Tommy hummed, going about fixing his lunch. “We need a table full of girls to plan a wedding?” he asked and Sutan cleared his throat pointedly. “Bitch, you’re prettier than half the girls I know, it still works,” he said and Adam walked back over to take his seat.

“I just want it to be nice, Tommy. For all I know it might be the only wedding I get and real or not, I want a perfect wedding,” he stressed. “Besides, don’t you have any specifics you want to offer up, Glitterbaby?” he asked.

Tommy hummed, pouring his noodles into a big bowl. “Well, I’d love the thickest platform you’ll allow-“

“Nope-“

“But Adam, you’re so tall and I’m short-“

Adam shook his head resolutely. “No. Creepers.”

“But-“

“NOT AT MY WEDDING!” Adam shouted, silencing him with an added ‘shhh’ when he tried to argue his point.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOD IM SO SORRY I FORGOT ABOUT THIS FIC!

Adam bit his lip, flopping down beside Tommy, who was writing something while playing his guitar. “Tommy, I want to ask you something about our wedding and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it,” he said and Tommy looked up.

“Adam, this is your wedding, do whatever you want,” he offered.

Adam grinned. “Well it’s yours too and I thought… well you’re the one who loves the old movies and scary movies and stuff,” he said and Tommy nodded. “I’ve been informed by an old acquaintance of mine that she can get us a reservation to have the wedding and reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Wait, the haunted one?” he asked, and Adam nodded.

“Supposedly it’s haunted by both Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Cleft,” he said.

Tommy smiled widely. “Dude, that’s pretty kick ass,” he pointed out. 

Adam smiled. “So you want to do it, right? I mean, it’s really beautiful. The ceremony would be in the historical lobby and the reception in the ballroom. And it’s a capacity of over two-hundred and since it’s last minute, we’re only having about one hundred or so guests so it’s perfect,” he said brightly.

Tommy nodded. “Sounds good,” he said and Adam beamed, clapping. “I take it the whole ‘don’t you like haunted shit’ didn’t mean you weren’t really wanting this one did it?”

“Oh my God it’s beautiful! I’ve been there before for a wedding and it’s amazing. Like, it’s been renovated to be modern but it still has that twenties-feel, you know? They even have a bar that was a speakeasy that still has that vibe and I love the old Hollywood stuff, you know?” he said. “And like, the color schemes are these warm reds and browns and creams and that goes great with the flowers our moms and I picked out and the place settings are white and gold, so it’s great too!” he said, beaming. “Our wedding’s going to be so awesome!” he said brightly.

Tommy smiled. “Of course it will, dude. You’re kind of the most trendy person I know. You can throw one hell of a party,” he said, happy to see Adam so excited.

“Alright, I’m going to go call my friend and get the booking before we lose it!” he said, jumping up to rush off, clearly excited about his wedding.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy shook his head, waving a hand as he ate from the bowl of popcorn he and Adam had between them. “Wait what do you mean I walk down the aisle?” he asked.

Sutan looked up from his seating charts. “You’re the girl,” he said and Tommy glowered.

“It’s Adam’s ‘big day’ here. Why doesn’t he walk down the aisle?” he asked.

Danielle snorted. “You’re the prettier one, people want to watch you walk down the aisle more than they to Adam.”

“Adam walks better than me,” he argued. “Seriously, this bitch is fierce in his walk, I’m awkward,” he defended.

Adam laughed. “Tommy if you really don’t want to, I’ll do it,” he offered. “I mean, logistically you’re the cuter, prettier one so you’re the more likely to walk down the aisle, but if you want me to, I’ll totally do it,” he offered.

“Good, settled!” Tommy said and the mothers groaned. “What?”

“Tommy, you have to be involved in this wedding,” Leila pointed out.

“I am! I’m totally down with this wedding, you guys. Adam and I are having it in the coolest venue I’d imagine, we’re going with this classic theme that totally works better than anything else I was imagining with sequins and glitter, and we found the magnolia blossoms Adam wants instead of rose petals for Ariel,” he said, shrugging. “I’m giving active input into my outfit rather than just saying ‘do whatever you want to me’ and giving Adam the reigns. I’m involved.”

“Have you finished your vows?” Sutan asked and Tommy just blinked. “ADAM! You said you told him about his vows!” he argued.

Adam groaned. “Oh shit, I forgot!” He looked at Tommy. “Write something sweet and I’ll be okay with it. You’re good at sweet,” he said.

“Adam, we have a week and a half. How am I supposed to write and deliver heartfelt wedding vows to a dude I’m not in love with in that little time to practice?!” he asked. “I love you to death as my friend, Adam, but it’s not going to be very convincing for me to look you in the eye and do some elaborate love-devotion shit,” he said.

Adam shrugged. “I’m being generic so I can deliver mine with conviction,” he said. “Well, I’m a good actor so it works either way, but like… mine are going to be actually to you, as my TommyJoe,” he said, fluffing his hair. “Like, a lot of shit I can say to you sounds romantic but I mean it in a platonic way. Like how I love you and you’re important to me and how I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in the world… all that good shit,” he explained, waving a hand. “I never specifically say ‘the love we have’ or anything that isn’t earnest.”

Tommy hummed. “Damn, I can so do that!” he said brightly. “I mean, like you said ‘what we have together’ sounds really romantic but it totally means the type of friendship we have,” he explained. “And I can honestly and truthfully tell you I want to spend the rest of my life with you because I do. You’re honestly one of the few people I’ve had such great chemistry with and I hope you and I are friends for the long run.”

Adam nodded. “Exactly! Now you get me,” he said, kissing the side of his head. “So, now all that’s left are fittings for all the suits and dresses I think. The hotel is doing the catering there so that’s taken care of, the flowers are simple, we’re only having the flowers for the flower girl because the lobby is marble and has a fountain with plants already on it,” he added. “Place settings are taken care of-“

“Oh shit, who’s going to officiate the ceremony?!” Sutan said quickly and they all froze. “We forgot that part! Shit-“

“Hold on,” Leila offered. “It’s already legal so the officiator doesn’t have to be a legally ordained person. It’s just a ceremony, so anybody works.”

Adam looked at Tommy, who hummed. “Well we’ve got our groomsmen and bridesmaids picked,” Tommy pointed out. 

Adam smirked. “Monte!” he said suddenly.

Tommy gaped, then beamed. “Yes! Oh my God, Monte can totally be our officiator!” he said and Sutan burst out laughing.

Dia frowned. “Wait, I don’t have a list of the wedding party,” she said, flipping through her stuff.

Sutan waved a hand. “Oh I’ve got it here,” he said, handing it to her.

Dia and Leila examined it. “Oh your dad’s your best man, Adam?” Dia asked, smiling. “That’s nice,” she said and Adam smiled. “Eber’s your best man. Neil’s on here. And I know Isaac and Mike are for Tommy, good,” she said. She frowned. “Chantala, Tommy?” she asked and Tommy nodded.

“Totally dude, Feathers told me I had to let her be in my wedding. She’s one of the ones that thinks it’s real, too, so keep that in mind, you guys,” he pointed out. “Mike too.”

Dia sighed. “Alright, so that just leaves….” She looked down the list and hummed. “Who’s Raja?” she asked.

Tommy suddenly smirked at Adam. “Aww, so we’re even? Two boys and one girl each?” 

Sutan scoffed. “Did you think I was planning this wedding without being in it?” he asked then smiled. “Raja’s my drag name, honey. I’ve already picked mine and Chantala’s dresses. They’re totally gorgeous. They fit with the Old Hollywood theme perfectly, too.”

Tommy smiled. “Chantala showed me a picture of hers on the rack when you picked them. I can’t wait to see you guys fitted in them. She’s so tiny and you’re so tall it’ll look ridiculous,” he teased.

Sutan grinned. “We’re going to look fierce. They’re these little flirty red numbers with an empire waist and a deep V with little beaded things on the straps… totally Rita Hayworth or something,” he said, waving a hand. “And then for her hair, since it’s pretty and long, I’m doing a deep part with those perfectly formed waves all swept to one side and then on mine the same manicured waves but in a bob and a little pearl clip to hold the one side back. Then we’ve got these pearl necklaces and long gloves and-“

“Dude, we’ll see them all then,” Tommy interrupted, smiling at how disappointed Sutan looked. “Seriously, you’ll both be beautiful, I believe you, but we’ve got vows to deal with here,” he said and Sutan sighed.

“Fine.”

“How are you going to do the kiss?” Danielle asked and Tommy and Adam both looked up with confused looks.

“Um, we have kissed before you know,” Adam pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. “Big sloppy showy ones on stage and tiny friendly pecks,” she pointed out. “You need to remember most of the people there are going to think you two are hopelessly in love on the happiest day of your lives, you know? It has to be genuine enough to fool friends and family,” she pointed out.

“Well Adam’s a good actor,” Leila pointed out.

Sutan snorted. “Tommy’s not, though.” He looked at them. “Okay, give me a good wedding kiss,” he demanded. “It needs to be romantic but reserved, since it’s in front of a lot of people who don’t actually want to see you tongue-fucking,” he pointed out.

Adam looked at Tommy, who shrugged. “Someone give us the cue,” Tommy said, and Danielle snickered.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife-“

“Heeeey,” Tommy said warningly and she smirked.

Adam looked down at Tommy. “Do it for real, Danielle,” he said, then grabbed Tommy’s hands like he would when they were standing at the altar on the day of the wedding.

“I now pronounce you partners for life. You may share your first wedded kiss,” she intoned and Tommy tilted his chin up, rising slightly to meet Adam in a soft kiss. “Dude, first wedded kiss, not kissing your grandma!” she said and Tommy jerked back.

“Dude, who kisses their grandmother like that?!” he cried in disgust.

Adam chuckled. “Well you said toned down!”

Sutan made a face. “You need at least some tongue-“

“Tongue isn’t appropriate for that-“

“Well tongue shows their passion better-“

Leila finally cut the others off. “Look, maybe not _tongue_ necessarily, but just… more!” she suggested. “Not all tight lipped and close-mouthed but not tonsil-tasting either,” she said and Adam stared at his mother.

“Really, ma? You really just called it that?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Would you rather I say tongue-fucking?” she asked and Adam looked offended at his mother’s tone. “Just kiss him!” she said. “Hell he’s pretty enough, you shouldn’t have to be encouraged to kiss a hot boy, kid,” she said and Tommy grinned.

“You like kissing me, you always say so,” he teased, then grabbed his hand. “Alright, blah blah blah ‘kiss’,” he said and Adam snickered, but leaned in, kissing him slowly but firmly, catching Tommy’s bottom lip between his as they pulled back.

“Eh, I’d give it a seven,” Sutan said, shrugging.

“Six for me,” Danielle said. “There’s just no passion! You guys fake more passion than that in photographs,” she said and Tommy sighed.

“Well we’re being commanded to just kiss out of nowhere with no preparation in front of our _moms_!” he stressed. “We’ll be in the zone on the wedding day,” he reassured.

Adam smiled. “Seriously, give us a crowd and we can please them, I promise,” he said, smiling at Tommy, who nodded.

“Alright, but there better be breathless ‘awwww’s from every woman in that room, damn it,” Sutan said with a pointed finger.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everything was amazing. Even Tommy was beginning to feel the giddy butterflies of a person on their wedding day as he watched it all come together. He was already standing at the altar with his best man, groomsman, across from Adam’s best man and groomsman, waiting on the groomsmaids (Sutan’s choice of words since there was no bride), flower girl, and Adam to do their procession down the aisle.

Everybody had done their best to dress for the theme and he felt like he was in the scene of a silver screen film. When the procession started down the aisle, Tommy grinned and everybody stifled laughs when they saw the rearrangement. Chantala and Raja were walking in that order, however, Ariel had clearly decided she had to escort Adam to his spot because the little girl had abandoned her flower basket and had Adam by the hand, walking with him.

Tommy bit his lip to keep from laughing, only to lose the urge when he made eye contact with Adam. To be fair, Adam was _gorgeous_. His hair was slicked back, his suit was perfectly tailored, his smile was radiant, and Tommy could suddenly feel butterflies because, hey, if he had to be married to a dude at least he was married to one that was beautiful. When Ariel got to the front with Adam in tow, Tommy offered her a high-five, and then kissed her cheek before taking Adam’s hand and standing up to face Monte, who was taking his job lightly and had assured them he would use his best southern preacher voice for the entire ceremony. He didn’t disappoint and they could hear half the people in the audience snickering through the whole thing as Monte spoke.

When it came to the vows, Tommy finally felt nervous. They both decided on short, simple vows, but it was still nerve-racking. They were using their original rings (mostly because they were pretty good rings) and Tommy’s hands shook as his turn to speak came up. “With this ring I promise to you that, no matter what, I’m always going to be here for you,” he said softly, looking into Adam’s eyes. “We’ll fight, and we’ll laugh, and we’ll love each other unconditionally, but no matter what, I’ll always be the one thing you can count on in your life.” He smiled. “I love you,” he said softly, sliding the ring onto Adam’s finger.

Adam beamed and winked at him as he started his. “With this ring, I promise you all of the devotion you deserve of me. You mean so much more to me than anybody else and I knew from the moment we met that we had something special,” he said and Tommy cracked a smile at his clever wording. “And no matter what happens, you’ll always be my Glitterbaby,” he said and Tommy beamed. Adam smiled. “And I’ll always be your Babyboy,” he said, putting the ring onto Tommy’s finger.

Monte whistled. “Hot damn, that was delightfully cheesy!” he said and everybody laughed, including Tommy and Adam. “Alright! TommyJoe, kiss your dude,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes at Monte before turning back to Adam.

They looked into each other’s eyes, aware that everyone that mattered was watching them. Adam raised his hand to gently cup Tommy’s jaw and Tommy closed his eyes, parting his lips just as Adam met him, kissing him slowly, gently, and so tenderly Tommy actually felt his heart thudding in his chest. He felt Adam’s thumb slide along his cheek. When they pulled away, they shared a surprised look, despite the cheers and catcalls. 

While they were walking back up the aisle, Tommy leaned into Adam’s side. “Hot damn, we pulled it off.”

“No shit, huh?” Adam muttered, smile never leaving his face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy really liked being Adam’s husband when it came to them flying to Europe. As his husband, who was deemed more important that ‘random bass player’, he got to fly business class with Adam. Tommy sighed, stretching out. “This is so fucking nice. You’d think as tiny as I am I’d never have a problem with leg room but _damn_ ,” he said, wiggling playfully. “So nice.”

Adam laughed, rolling his eyes. “The perks of marrying a rock star,” he teased and Tommy wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“I’m starting to understand groupies,” he said, grinning before turning to face Adam. “So, what’s up?” he asked and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Texting Lane before I have to shut off my phone, as you can see,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“No, I mean what are you going to do to entertain me for our long ass flight,” he said and Adam laughed.

“Hmm,” he said, then leaned over to kiss Tommy’s cheek with a sloppy smack, making Tommy whine and wipe at his face. “Annoy you until you leave me alone to read,” he said, digging through his bag to hold up a book.

Tommy grinned. “Whatcha reading?” he asked, snatching the book despite Adam’s attempt to snatch it back. He read the back and made a face. “‘-spies whose best work is done in the field and between the sheets-‘ Dude,” Tommy said, shooting Adam a look, noticing Adam’s pink ears. “Cheesy romance novels?” he asked. “Really?” He flipped through a few pages and snickered. “Straight romance novels, too. Don’t the sex scenes freak you out?” he asked curiously.

Adam snatched his book back. “Not really. I mean, it isn’t gonna do me any favors, that’s for sure, but it’s interesting and the story’s really catchy! I mean, you have to find out who the bad guy is and all this fun shit and there’s dramatic romance and intrigue and besides, the _passion_ the author gets in-“

Tommy just stared. “You know, I always took you as a fairly manly guy, Adam,” he said, and Adam just smacked him with the paperback.

“I am not girly just because I like romance,” he complained. “Besides, our wedding was romantic,” he said and Tommy grinned.

“Yeah, but that’s still not on the level of girly romance novels,” he pointed out. He grinned. “Why Adam, do you fantasize about-“ Tommy grabbed the book and found a page. He snorted. “‘His rough hands were surprisingly gentle as they caressed the velvet skin of her thigh’?” he asked, giggling.

Adam rolled his eyes, snatching the book back. “Maybe if you tried being romantic, you’d have landed a pretty girl that night rather than marrying me,” he said and Tommy made a face.

“Oh yeah? Could say the same about you, babe,” he said, winking. “I’m sure plenty of boys would love your hands on their thighs,” he said, the made lewd faces. “Your massive hands grabbing their slender waist,” he added, making a show of running his own hands all down his body, faking cheesy gasps and moans. “Oh yeah, _caress the velvet of my thighs_ -“

“Fuck you, TommyJoe,” Adam said through his laughter as he shoved Tommy, only to blush and snatch Tommy’s hands away from himself as the woman cross the aisle gave them disapproving glances. “You’re embarrassing me,” he hissed and Tommy smirked up at him.

“Yeah, cause I’m turning you on with my ‘milky white skin’ and my ‘desperate moans of arousal’-“

“Tommy!” Adam squeaked, pressing his hands to his mouth to stay quiet as he laughed at Tommy’s antics. “Stop,” he pleaded, grabbing Tommy’s left hand as he saw it lifting the corner of his shirt. “Tommy!” he hissed, blushing when Tommy made an abortive hip-thrust motion. “Stop!” he pleaded and Tommy finally stopped, collapsing into laughter that he muffled by biting on the hood of his jacket. Adam just fought to keep his laughs quiet, shoving Tommy again. “I hate you,” he said, with a longsuffering sigh. “So hard,” he added.

Tommy grinned and grabbed Adam’s hand, making a show of placing it on his thigh with their fingers laced as he winked across the aisle at the lady who was glaring. “Love you too, baby,” he said louder than necessary, enjoying the way Adam glared and tried to tug his hand away, only to realize Tommy wasn’t giving up. He finally sighed and shook his head.

“I give up. You’re going to piss off the other passengers-“

“Damn straight!” Tommy confirmed cheerfully, smiling up at Adam. Adam just shook his head and used his other hand to pick up his book and find his place.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as they landed in Edinburgh Adam was off to do some press. “Alright, promise me you’ll behave,” he told Tommy as they were getting in separate cars.

Tommy smirked. “Me and Monte are going to do a live chat with fans,” he said and Adam whined.

“Monte, no!” he begged and Monte just shot him a look.

“Your husband, not my responsibility,” he said, sliding into the car.

Tommy smiled. “I’ll behave better than I did on the plane, I promise,” he said and Adam sighed.

“You better,” he said, then glanced up. “Alright, kiss me, there’s people watching,” Adam said and Tommy smiled, leaning in for a small, sweet kiss.

“See you tonight,” Tommy said, sliding into the car. Adam quickly turned to get into his before Lane had a heart attack so that they could go do the interview.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“We’re here with Adam Lambert, everybody,” the hostess announced and Adam smiled, waving at the camera “Alright, so you’re starting the European leg of your second world tour,” she said and Adam nodded.

“Yeah, we did the American leg over the summer, just like the first one. This time we’re doing Europe first,” he explained. “Then Asia.”

“Now, your first tour, it had a name. Glam Nation,” she started. “Does this one have one?”

Adam shook his head. “Well, technically I guess it’s two separate tours in that respect because the American tour was called the Endless Summer tour, which isn’t very original, but it was just a working title and it just happened to stick,” he offered. “There isn’t really a name for the Europe and Asia tour though.” He hummed. “What would you suggest?” he asked and she chuckled.

“Oh I’d be no good at that,” she said, waving a hand at him. “So your North American tour ended with a bang, didn’t it! You got married!” 

Adam beamed. “I did, yeah.”

“Well congratulations to you,” she said, then smiled. “Now, we’ve got a picture here of you and your husband,” she said and Adam turned to look at the screen, smiling. “Now I believe this was one of the pictures you posted from your wedding?” she asked.

Adam laughed. “Yeah, well we eloped in October and then just a week ago we had a wedding because we figured it was only fair to our friends and family but we wanted to wait until after the holidays,” he explained. “It was all very last minute but it ended up being beautiful and this was at the reception,” he said, looking at the photo of him and Tommy sitting side by side with their cheeks touching as they both made faces.

“And it was quite the shock! Nobody knew you were dating,” she said.

Adam fidgeted. “Well it wasn’t as much a secret as the fact I like to try and keep my private life separate. I mean, we’re both open, proud guys but to be honest, it’s annoying when some people seem to care more about who I’m sleeping with than they do what my next single will be and I don’t mind the attention, curiosity is human nature, but it isn’t like we had to announce it to anybody just because we decided to start a relationship together,” he said.

“Well you’ve got a lovely husband, Adam,” she said and Adam smiled widely. “You two make a beautiful couple and we can only wish you all the luck in the world,” she said and Adam smiled.

“Thank you so much.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy sat strumming his acoustic and writing things down while Monte sat on the other bed, starting up the live chat. Lately he’d been working on a lot of music. He was still not that great with words but he’d been writing a lot and recording snippets to send to his friends to see how they liked it.

“We’re on, TommyJoe!” Tommy looked up and saw Monte waving at him. “Say hi,” he said, and Tommy saw the webcam aimed his way. He smiled and waved. “Come over here,” he said and Tommy smiled, putting down his guitar before getting up to flop down. 

“What’s up,” he said, waving at the screen. He smiled when he saw the comments flying. “I can’t read a single thing there,” he said and Monte leaned closer.

“I think half of them are asking dirty questions about your husband,” he said and Tommy smirked.

“Good job,” he said, giving them thumbs up. “But no, even if it’s funny to watch him turn pretty pink colors when he hears about it, it’s not nice to ask invasive questions, you guys,” he chastised.

Monte snickered. “This one asked if Adam has freckles _everywhere_. Does that count as invasive?” he joked and Tommy just smirked at the camera.

“What do you think, you’ve seen quite a lot of him, I’m sure you can imagine it yourself,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. He read one of them to himself then giggled. “Adam didn’t turn me gay. I never really put a label on my sexuality. I liked girls and was okay with that and then I liked Adam and was okay with that too,” he said and Monte shoved him over playfully.

“So he turned you gay,” he teased and Tommy rolled his eyes. “This one asks if being married to your singer really seems like a good idea for you as a musician,” Monte said and Tommy hummed.

“Well I was in this band before I was with him, I’m a great fit with the band, my other bands mostly have either Monte or Isaac in them with me, so it just doesn’t make sense to quit,” he answered. “I mean, I wouldn’t suggest starting a band with your spouse but I was with the band before I was with him and he’d never try and make me stop doing what I love,” he answered honestly then grinned. “Besides, do you really think I’d enjoy going six months without seeing my husband?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Monte snickered, looking at Tommy. “Adam’s going to kill you when he sees you saying all this shit,” he said and Tommy just snickered.

“You didn’t see me on the plane,” he said softly so that nobody heard them on the feed. “Alright, next one!” He looked down and read some more. “Was Monte at our wedding- hell yeah he was,” he said, grinning. “Monte officiated our wedding,” he said, nudging Monte. “There’s going to be some pictures soon and you’ll get to see Monte all dressed up like a preacher. It was great.”

Monte snickered at one of them. “This one asked if you did anything special the few days before tour since you didn’t have time for a honeymoon.”

Tommy shrugged. “It doesn’t matter we didn’t have a honeymoon, we’re happy to be on tour doing what we love. Music makes us happy and getting to be on a stage every night doing what I love with my husband who loves it just as much is an amazing thing,” he said.

Monte snickered. “Dude that was corny-“

“Fuck you, dude,” Tommy said, shoving him. “Will you and Adam keep up the stage flirting- I really don’t know,” he said honestly. “I mean, I don’t see why not, but maybe the fact we’re married does make it less sexy and entertaining and more exhibitionist,” he said, then looked at Monte. “You down with letting Adam make out with you-“

“Hell no, your man, your germs,” he said making a finger cross at Tommy, who snorted.

“The answer is I’m not sure. I’ll ask Adam and tweet an answer maybe,” he said, shrugging. He read one then burst out laughing, covering his mouth. 

“What?” Monte asked and Tommy scrolled back, hoping to find it before he comments ate it completely, then pointed. “How big is- HA!” Monte burst out laughing.

Tommy just grinned at the camera and then looked at Monte. “Should I answer?”

“NO! Adam will strangle me for letting you-“ Monte started and Tommy turned to the screen, grinning.

“Big,” he said simply, winking with a giggle. “No clue _exactly_ how big, but BIG,” he stressed, and Monte just stared at him half laughing and half in shock.

“When you are sleeping on the floor tonight I won’t blame Adam one bit,” he said, rolling his eyes when Tommy snickered, reading more comments as they came.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy laid against the headboard of the bed, strumming and writing again, only to look up when Adam came in, glaring. “You told the internet I have a big dick?!” he demanded and Tommy snorted.

“Well you do!”

“How do you know?!” Adam asked. “You’ve never seen it-“

“Dude, think of all the times you’ve gotten semis on stage and pressed against me. If that’s half-mast holy fuck, you must be hung,” he said and Adam just shot him an incredulous look. “Come on, you have seen photos of yourself in tight pants, right?” he asked, and Adam whined, face planting on the bed.

“My dick is my business,” he said petulantly.

Tommy smirked. “As far as they know, it’s my business too,” he said and Adam snickered.

“I guess so,” he said, then sighed. “You could’ve just not answered though,” he pointed out, sitting up. He shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his shoes, lying down across the bed. Tommy went back to playing and Adam turned on his side, watching. “What’s that?” he asked.

Tommy chewed on the pencil he was holding in his mouth. “I’m not sure. I’ve been writing a lot and none of it really is a song but it’s just… guitar stuff by itself.”

Adam hummed. “It’s pretty. You don’t usually play anything mellow,” he said and Tommy shrugged.

“I don’t know what it is. It’s not _somber_ but it’s definitely sticking acoustic. It isn’t something I’ll convert to metal song,” he said, then shrugged. “I had an idea for a piano melody to it but I haven’t had any time with a piano or keyboard.”

Adam nodded. “You got any words?” he asked.

Tommy shook his head. “I’m never good with words. I usually leave that to whoever I give the song to.” He smiled. “It’s shit but whenever I’m finished you can have it. See if you can get somebody to make it not suck. Maybe work with Monte,” he tried.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Don’t do that, Tommy,” he said, sitting up to face him, legs crossed.

“What?” he asked distractedly, strumming something new to add to his sheet of paper.

Adam watched him. “Put yourself down. You’re an amazing guitarist. I mean, you always do that. You compare yourself to Monte and talk about how bad you are but you’re nearly as good as he is and he’s been seriously doing this stuff for a long time,” he pointed out. “Just because you’re not as polished as Monte is doesn’t mean you’re not good,” he said.

Tommy shrugged, scrunching up his nose. “I don’t know, I’m not bad but I don’t have the writing skills he does. He can write all this shit and I’m really only that great at learning it, you know? I mean, he can compose full songs and I just write shitty little guitar riffs-“

“They’re good! And you write so many songs for Mike,” he pointed out. “And just to be fair, Tommy, you’re kinda the one that makes Ravi not suck,” he added with a smile. “I’ve seen you fixing all the songs.”

Tommy shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Just adding some flair.”

Adam grinned. “Now play me what you have so far,” he said.

“Adam, no,” he said, then shrugged. “I don’t like playing songs that aren’t done,” he said softly.

Adam smiled. “I’ve never seen you shy,” he said and Tommy gave him the finger. “No, come on, play for me,” he said and Tommy sighed, but put down his pencil and looked down at the page to be sure he was getting it right. 

“Don’t watch me,” Tommy said and Adam rolled his eyes, but made a show of falling backwards and looking up at the ceiling. Tommy started playing, biting his lip to get the complex bit just right, fingers moving pretty far in a short amount of time down the frets. He was startled from his focus when Adam started humming along. Tommy lifted his head and watched curiously, still playing along as Adam hummed a little harmony along to the melody he was playing. He did a little counter tempo thing and Tommy stopped.

“Why’d you stop?” Adam asked, sitting up.

Tommy grabbed his notepad and scribbled something, flickering his fingers on imaginary frets then looked up. “Do that again,” he said and he started playing again. Adam hummed along and did the same thing as before, only Tommy matched it as best he could, then grinned. “That’s really better that the other,” he said, smiling. “Dude, every songwriter should have their own personal singer to hum with them,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” he said then smiled. “Consider it a perk of being married to a rock star,” he said and Tommy shot him a look.

“Alright, rock star,” he teased. He looked up. “Speaking of rock star, a fan asked about our usual flirting and kisses on stage,” he said and Adam gave him his attention. “Are we gonna still do it? I mean, is it really much of a show to see a married couple kissing and groping onstage or would that take it into exhibitionist zone?” he asked.

Adam hummed. “I didn’t think about it,” he said. “Well, the thing is, it’s entertainment. And I think they’re going to want to see it no matter if we’re married or not, you know?” he said.

“I agree, and I’m okay with keeping it going, I’m just worried now that people ‘know’ were actually having sex, that critics will start on us bringing our foreplay on stage,” he said and Adam snorted.

“I wish,” he said and Tommy shot him an incredulous look. “What? Don’t look at me, you know I haven’t gotten any in _months_! Hell, I’d probably suck a dick on stage in front of everybody just to see a naked boy again,” he said, sighing. “And it isn’t like I’d got some recently before we got married, you know?” he said with a resigned snort. “It had been like… end of august since I’d gotten so much as a blowjob, dude. I haven’t had any sex with another person since _august_ ,” he said with a dramatic sigh.

Tommy snickered. “I kinda got some the night before we got married,” he said and Adam snorted.

“I told Monte you get more action on tour than I do,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Well I’m sorry you married me, Babyboy. I promise though, I lived sixteen years without sex, I think you can last one,” he said in mock solemnity.

Adam snorted. “I lived twenty-one years without sex and I’d really love to _not_ have to do one, I just can’t really do anything about the whole ‘adultery’ aspect.”

Tommy chuckled. “Really good porn,” he suggested and Adam sighed.

“I’d love some, but I’m never alone anywhere I can watch porn,” he said, giving Tommy a playfully dark look.

Tommy snickered. “I’d offer to go away for a while and give you ‘alone time’ but then it would just be weird, you know?”

“Please don’t offer,” Adam said, snickering. “It would be nice but like you said, sooo weird. I mean, if I asked ‘Tommy, go away for an hour and tell everybody to leave me alone’ then you’d _know_ the whole time you were gone I was watching porn and I’d KNOW you were thinking about me watching porn and it would be a total turn off,” he finished.

Tommy snickered. “Exactly,” he said then grinned. “I don’t know, I’m surprisingly not as desperate for a fuck as you keep complaining about,” he said.

Adam snorted. “I picked up the complaining a lot from growing up with a little brother. I’m sorry if I get to being really whiny sometimes, it’s just how I am,” he said apologetically.

Tommy shrugged. “It’s okay, I know you and still like you well enough. And without arguing over our house anymore, it’s been really relaxing being married to you,” he admitted. “I mean, when we started wedding planning, it made us start compromising in how we lived and it’s carried on and it’s really nice,” he admitted. “It’s like being roommates with someone who is willing to work with you on things, not be underhanded and dip your toothbrush in the toilet,” he said.

Adam just stared. “So you’re glad we’re married because you don’t have to worry I’ll dip your toothbrush in the toilet?!” he asked incredulously. “I have to kiss you, I’m not putting your toothbrush in the toilet and then putting my _tongue_ in your mouth. Ew!”

Tommy snickered, rolling his eyes. “Yes, Adam. That was completely my point,” he said flatly, earning an annoyed look from Adam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it's been a while since I updated and you read this note, gimme a comment and I'll update. Sorry for that last time!


	9. Chapter 9

Tommy tossed and turned a while in his bunk before giving up on sleep. He got up and went out into the lounge, trying to be quiet, only to see Taylor sitting with someone’s laptop on his lap. “Is that Adam’s?” he asked softly and Taylor looked up with a start, then nodded.

“Yeah, I hacked his password and now I’m sneaking through his internet history,” he said and Tommy snickered, sitting beside him.

“His password is Glitter, what kind of hacking do you have to do?” he teased, then smirked. “What all’s in it?” he asked. 

“Shockingly little porn,” Taylor answered, smiling sneakily. “I was going to tease him about his kinky porn but there isn’t any.”

Tommy snickered. “Adam’s not as kinky as people think, dude,” he said and Taylor shot him a look. “Not like I know personally,” he added, rolling his eyes. “But what I mean is, I live with the guy. There’s no kinky handcuffs and whips and chains and shit in the house, I can guarantee it. I get the feeling he’s vanilla compared to what people expect of him.”

Taylor made a face. “That’s disappointing. Half the guys I know back home who like boys have some fantasy about Adam tying them down and making them his bitch,” he said and Tommy snorted.

“Well I know why, even if it’s not sexual, Adam’s stage-presence is really dominant. I’m used to playing it up, but I won’t even joke and say in the beginning when Adam started grabbing me and snatching my hair and shit I totally froze and let him,” he admitted. “But unless he just uses that ‘you’re going to do what I want and like it’ presence in bed, there’s nothing kinky going on there. There’s definitely not like… bondage shit going on, I’d notice the ball gags and handcuffs if they were in our house,” he said, winking.

Taylor sighed, shaking his head. “So disappointing.” He opened a file and then smiled. “Awww!” he said, giving Tommy an exaggerated look. “You’ve got your own _file_ full of everything Tommy,” he said, tilting the screen.

Tommy snorted. “He’s an organized dude, it makes sense all his pictures of me would be organized.”

“Nah it’s pictures and like… drawing people have sent him scans and some videos of you. Everything.”

Tommy smiled. “Aww, Adam’s been stalking me,” he said, snickering. “He’s probably trying to keep tabs on me,” he joked, then grinned as he took out his phone and opened up twitter, sending a tweet. 

_Hacked into my husband’s laptop. Found his stalker-file full of pics of me ;)_

Taylor snorted, tucking into Tommy’s side to watch the replies get crazier and crazier. Taylor burst out laughing when he logged onto Adam’s twitter (he kept himself logged in on his laptop it appeared) and saw the replies _he_ was getting.

Tommy snorted and typed out another one. “Watch this.”

_NO! There are no nudes of me in existence! Besides I’m always with him he doesn’t need any!_

Taylor burst out giggling, biting Tommy’s shoulder to keep from waking everybody up. Tommy jumped when his phone buzzed and he pulled it out, only to frown when he saw it was a text, not a tweet. He saw it was from Adam and beamed. “Oh yay!” he said, opening it.

 _I got a text from my_ mother _saying you were being a jerk on twitter. Stop it. I’m not going to even look at it and give you the attention you want with those tweets._

_Something tells me you’ll want to see what I’m tweeting about ;p_

“This will be good,” Tommy told Taylor, who waited impatiently, using the break to look through the replies on Adam’s twitter some more.

Tommy was about to check that Adam got his text when he heard feet thumping down the stairs of the two-level bus they were using and smiled deviously. “Hey Babyboy.”

“You little shit, gimme that!” A grumpy Adam demanded, shoving Taylor over into the cushions as he snatched his laptop, shutting it with a snap. “Invasion of privacy,” he said with a pout.

Taylor grinned. “Your husband did it,” he said and Tommy smiled at Adam, who just rolled his eyes.

“Why are you two even up? It’s the middle of the night?” he asked, looking down at them.

“I could ask the same about you,” Taylor said. “You’re the one who has to sing your ass off tomorrow,” he pointed out.

Adam huffed. “I can’t sleep,” he admitted.

Taylor huffed. “You’ve got a _bed_ twice as big as my bunk and you can’t sleep?” he asked. 

Tommy shrugged. “You know I don’t sleep this time of night often,” he said and Adam bit his lip.

“I can’t sleep by myself,” he admitted and Tommy smiled, batting his eyelashes jovially. 

“Awwwww, that’s so sweet-“

“Oh shut up, Tommy. It’s just I’ve gotten used to you kicking me while you’re in bed and waking me up when you get up and go do random crap all night long,” he complained.

Tommy smiled, looking at the time. “Alright, you and me are going to bed then, because you need rest. I’m used to not sleeping but you get really bitchy and irritable when you’re not well rested,” he said, standing up.

Adam smiled with a slightly embarrassed look. “Thanks,” he said and Tommy grabbed his hand, looking back.

“Night, TayTay.”

“Woohoo, somebody’s all domestic!” Taylor replied, winking at them as they went into the back and up the stairs, holding hands.

When they got to Adam’s bed, Tommy chuckled. “You would think since you’re touring with your husband, they’d give us a really big one like last time,” he said, snagging some of the pillows Adam had piled on the small bed.

“I know, I guess they thought I’d be having orgies then and only one small guy now,” he teased and Tommy rolled his eyes before shrugging off his hoodie and climbing into bed in just his tee-shirt and pajamas. He slid over close to the wall and Adam climbed in behind him. “Be glad I’m tiny,” he teased and Adam chuckled.

“Fair warning, I’ll probably end up all up on you in the night because my ass is hanging off the bed,” he admitted, scooting a little closer without being practically on top of Tommy.

Tommy chuckled, grabbing Adam’s hand. “I’ve got you,” he said, tugging Adam’s arm around him, holding his hand. “And as long as I don’t get squished or suffocated, I don’t really care if you use me as a teddy bear. I’m used to waking up being cuddled by now,” he said and Adam laughed softly, breath ruffling Tommy’s hair.

“I didn’t know if you’d noticed or not. I wake up before you at home,” he said, snuggling closer.

Tommy hummed. “I wake up in the middle of the night snuggled back against you with an arm around my waist, so I noticed.”

Adam sighed dramatically. “You know my secret, I’m a serial snuggler,” he joked and Tommy smiled.

“Sleep Adam,” he said softly, stroking his thumb along Adam’s hand. Adam just sighed, shifting slightly to slide his free arm under his pillow before Tommy felt him get still and try to sleep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam looked up from his spot fighting Sasha over the last bagel when Tommy stumbled in, scratching at his fluffy hair. He finally got it then held it over his head, snickering at Sasha’s attempts to get it as he smiled at Tommy. “Morning, TommyJoe,” he said and Tommy grunted then sat down at the table, pulling his knees up between him and the table. “You okay?”

“Need coffee,” he mumbled, putting his face against his knees.

Adam laughed and grabbed the coffee pot, still holding the bagel over his head as Sasha jumped. “Come on, I’m _hungry_!” she complained.

“Yeah and this is the last whole-grain bagel! You dance off the fat, eat a pop tart,” he said, pouring Tommy a mug of coffee with his free hand. “Look, you’re not getting it, stop trying,” he said and she finally just glared and turned to go away.

“Brooke! Adam’s denying me my most important meal of the day!” she complained loudly as she walked off in a huff. Adam just snickered, fixing Tommy’s coffee how he liked it before taking it to him.

“Here, TommyJoe. Maybe you’ll join us living people now,” he teased and Tommy made a strangled noise of happiness as he made grabby hands at the mug before taking it to drink deeply, humming in satisfaction. 

“Mmm, you’re the best husband ever,” Tommy said with a sigh and Adam laughed, going to find the strawberry cream cheese they kept in the mini-fridge.

“Yo,” Isaac said, sliding into the booth across from Tommy. “You awake?”

“Getting there,” he offered, putting his legs down to scooch up when Adam came back and sat down beside him.

“Morning, Isaac,” he said, happily spreading the cream cheese on his bagel.

“Adam, Sasha said you told her to eat my pop tarts!” Taylor said, coming up to fling himself down beside Isaac.

Adam shrugged. “I didn’t say yours, but I was just trying to get her to stop trying to steal my bagel,” he said, taking a bite. “Mmmm, ummy!” he said obnoxiously, mouth full.

Tommy looked at his bagel. “Is that even good? It looks gross,” he said, picking up the container of strawberry cream cheese to eye it dubiously.

Adam offered it to him and Tommy leaned over to take a bite, sitting back with a curious look as he chewed. “Good, right?” Adam said and Tommy snorted.

“Tastes like cardboard,” Tommy said, swallowing with a face. “Ew,” he said, drinking his coffee to wash the taste from his mouth.

Adam shrugged. “Oh well, more for me,” he said, taking another bite.

Tommy snorted. “I thought you didn’t eat dairy when you could help it?” he asked and Adam shrugged.

“Not supposed to, but I don’t care. If I’ve got to eat a whole grain bagel, I’m going to eat some nice yummy fat on it to make it taste better,” he said, taking another bite. “I thought you weren’t supposed to have sugar this early in the morning but I still made your coffee how you like it,” he pointed out and Tommy smiled.

“Cause you’re the best,” he said, leaning his head against Adam’s shoulder affectionately. “And yeah, I’ll probably hurl since I didn’t eat anything before drinking so much sugar, but I don’t really give a shit, it’s yummy,” he said simply.

Adam snorted. “You’re insane,” he said, kissing the top of his head. “You should eat,” he said and Tommy shrugged.

“I’m not hungry in the morning,” he said.

“Yeah, but you need to,” Adam said pointedly. “Breakfast is important.”

Tommy snickered, raising an eyebrow. “Thanks, Mom,” he teased and Adam rolled his eyes.

“I’m just trying to look out for your health. You may be skinny but I’d venture a guess you’re as unhealthy as a thirty year old can get,” he said pointedly. “You don’t exercise, you don’t eat right, you don’t sleep well, and when you do eat, it’s your bodyweight in grease and salt.”

Tommy grinned. “And I’m still skinny,” he said and Adam glowered. 

“Jerk.”

“Love you to,” Tommy said with a grin, earning a certain finger waved in his direction.

Taylor interrupted. “Okay, what’s with the domestic bliss?” he asked.

Isaac snickered. “Seriously, you guys are like… being a married couple for real this morning. Something we should hear about,” he teased.

“I’m a lot bigger than you, Isaac,” Adam said offhandedly, shooting him a look. “Remember that.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam was having his makeup retouched while Lane texted someone. “Hey Lane, Tommy wanted to know, not that I think the answer will change out decision on what to do, but do you think that, since we’re married, the stage-kisses are too much? Like, when it’s a real couple is that exhibitionism rather than artistry?” he asked, nodding at the makeup girl so Lane knew what he was talking about it realistically for.

“Well it’ll probably get more shit, but I don’t think Tommy’s going to let you stop just because it’s ‘too far’,” she pointed out and Adam smiled.

“Probably not, he loves shaking things up.”

The door flew open and Tommy ran in, laughing, shutting it behind him. “Save me!” he cried, then ran over to sit with Lane, ducking beside her. 

“YOU FUCKER!” Brooke ran in, looking around only to spot Tommy. “Give it back!”

“Give what back?” Tommy said playfully and she glowered. 

“Give. It-“

“What did you do?” Adam asked curiously.

Brooke turned, glowering. “He stole my bra!” she said. “I changed into my outfit then came out and my bag was open and he was looking suspicious and he ran and then my sparkly red bra wasn’t in my bag,” she said, turning back. “Give it!”

Lane frowned. “Why do you want a sparkly red bra, Tommy?”

Tommy giggled. “Cause it makes her annoyed,” he said, then grinned. “Besides, you see me with it?” he asked, holding up his hands.

Brooke glared. “When I find my bra, it better be fucking perfectly safe cause I love that bra. It’s pretty,” she said, turning to stalk back out.

Adam snorted. “Alright, what did you do with it?” he demanded, thanking the makeup girl as he turned around to face Tommy.

Tommy smirked and unzipped his hoodie, pushing it off his shoulder to reveal he was _wearing_ the red bra on top of his shirt and under his hoodie. “I’m a sneaky bastard,” he said and Adam just shot him a look.

“Yeah, and my husband’s wearing a bra,” he said and Tommy smirked.

“Fuck you, I look good in red,” he said, then undid his hoodie and took off the bra, tossing it on the couch. “Whatever, it was fun,” he said, walking over to Adam. He leaned in, looking at the eye shadow he was wearing. “That’s pretty,” he said, turning Adam’s face gently to see it catching the light.

“Where’s yours?” Adam asked curiously. “You’re like, barely wearing any makeup,” he said, eyeing simply eyeliner and mascara. “Not even any of your lip shit?” he asked curiously.

Tommy made a face. “I’m out of the good stuff, I was just gonna steal yours after I’ve got my shirt on for the stage,” he said. “The cheap shit I bought smears and is really sticky, you’ll kiss me and come back looking like you’re a vampire with blood on your face,” he said.

Adam laughed. “Well thank you for the consideration, TommyJoe,” he said, grabbing his hand to walk him over to the mirror. “But not the color I’m wearing, it’s too pale for you,” he said, looking for one before getting the color he wanted. “Want me to do it?” he asked.

Tommy shrugged. “That’s fine,” he said, hopping up on the counter, parting his lips so Adam could do his makeup. Adam caught his chin in his hand, holding his face as he started with the lipstick, then pulled back to eye his lips.

“Alright, rub them together and let me get the gloss,” he said, going to get the right gloss. When he came back, he stepped closer, settling between Tommy’s knees, concentrating on getting the lips right.

“You’ve got that concentration line between your eyebrows,” Tommy said and Adam shushed him.

“Hold still,” he said, then finished up, smiling at the finished product. “Pretty,” he said, admiring the overall effect from a few angles as he turned Tommy’s face.

Lane watched with a raised eyebrow as the makeup girl finished packing up her stuff and smiled over at them. She leaned over to Lane when she started out. “Those two are so cute together,” she murmured. “They just look so happy when they’re looking at each other,” she said, then straightened up to walk out. Lane simply raised an eyebrow at the smiles on both men’s faces as they chatted about something, Adam taking Tommy’s hand to hold when he jumped down. 

However, once Tommy was balanced, neither of them seemed to bother letting go.


	10. Chapter 10

Rather than continue with the Fever kiss, the new choreography was for one of Adam’s newest songs. It was one of his more rock n’ roll songs, which Tommy loved, that had some pretty sexy lyrics. Tommy’s cue was the line ‘the way he tastes’, which had a sizable gap before the next verse, a good four seconds, and Adam made good use of them. It was all Tommy could do to not fuck up the bass line, when Adam kissed him like he was going to take him right there on the stage in front of everybody. 

Adam _loved_ it. People’s reaction was wild and Tommy loved to see the glint Adam got in his eyes when people screamed for him. Tommy loved that he was helping give Adam the dream he’d had since he was a little boy. If it meant he had to let his best friend molest him in front of sold-out audiences, it was alright by him.

Tommy _really_ liked the new covers. Adam still did some of his favorites, but one of the new encore covers was Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’ which was equal parts fun to play and fun to play along with, because he got kissed thoroughly once during the song, Adam snatching his hair back and taking whatever he wanted from him, like people wanted to see. He also got groped a good few times between the two songs, which he loved because the eventually reaction on twitter was sure to be delightfully creepy.

After the first full show, they were all ready to head out and celebrate for a few hours before they had to continue on. Adam had to stay behind and meet some VIP fans, so the ones going out went ahead without him, so that he could catch up with them later. The bar they picked wasn’t one of their usual dance clubs, it was just an average pub. Tommy offered to get everybody’s drinks while they got the giant booth in the back corner, so he headed up to the bar, leaning against it as he waited for the bartender to finish with some people down at the end.

Tommy heard the two guys right down from him talking and was surprised to notice that they were American. He smiled in amusement but otherwise tuned them out. However, when he heard Adam’s name, he turned slightly towards them, listening.

“Yeah, I heard he was playing in town tonight,” the bigger one with short hair said, sipping his beer. “It’s an embarrassment that he’s the American representation this weekend.”

The smaller one, who was still pretty big, scoffed. “Fucking faggot probably fits in better here, though, if you’re honest.”

“Oh yeah, there’s plenty of those filthy bastards all over the place here. Don’t even try to hide it. Sick fucks.” Tommy bit his tongue, fighting the inner urge he had to stand up for his friend. When the bartender got to him, he forced a smile, ignoring the men again as he ordered his drink with a smile. The bartender nodded and went to get what he needed.

“Oh dude, look at that!” Tommy couldn’t ignore the louder voice and sound of urgency in the American’s voice and turned, following their eyes, only to see Taylor was standing beside the table, clearly demonstrating some dance moves that had the whole table rolling in laughter. “Dude, every single dude at that table’s wearing makeup! Ha, what a bunch of pussy assed fag-“

Tommy snapped. “Excuse me, but do you think you could keep your opinions to yourself,” he asked and the guys turned to him in surprise, only to eye his hair and makeup with obvious disdain.

“What, you with those pansies?” The smaller one asked.

Tommy shot him a look. “I am, actually. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call my friends names. They’re not pansies, they’re not pussies, and even the ones who are gay aren’t ‘fags’, you ignorant prick,” he said pointedly.

“Looks like a fairy convention to me,” The bigger one said, nodding at him. “You included, friend,” he said flatly.

Tommy gritted his teeth. “You talk a lot of shit, _friend_ ,” he said and one looked up, only to splutter when he glanced over Tommy’s shoulder. 

“No fucking way! That explains everything!” he said, and the other sneered. Tommy turned back and saw Adam had walked in and was headed over to the table with the others, walking with Brooke, who had stayed behind with him. “There’s the fag-pack leader-“

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” Tommy spat, catching their attention.

“What? Standing up for that cocksucker-“

“That’s my fucking husband, you asshole!” Tommy snapped incredulously. 

They both just gaped. “Oh my God, you sick fuck-“ Tommy cut off his loud retort with a fist right to the face. He didn’t stop to think, his anger simply overrode any reasoning he had as he punched the guy right in the nose, startling a waitress who walked past into screaming. She screamed more, however, when the bigger one caught up with reality and started after Tommy for punching his friend. 

He tackled Tommy off his barstool and they both went down hard, dragging a bottle off with him, which, coupled with the screaming waitress, caught the attention of most of the bar. The guy pinned Tommy down but Tommy drew back, punching him in the eye just before kneeing him in the stomach, shoving him off as best he could, only to have the other one, who was back on his feet, grab him around the waist and pick him up, slamming him against the bar.

“TOMMY!” Tommy heard Monte shout his name, but he was too busy gritting his teeth through the pain from the slam into the bar long enough to kick the guy in the balls and then punch the big one in the face again when he came back up. Tommy was dragged with him on the way down, but he was quickly snatched away by familiarly tattooed arms around his waist. He was tired of fighting so he let Isaac drag him away, but not before one of the guys managed to catch him right in the side of the head with a flailing leg, jarring him into crying out in pain.

He saw Terrance and a few local guys who had ran over trying to settle the angry guys down, but when he tried to find his footing once Isaac had him pulled far enough away to let him go, he stumbled, feeling the left side of his face throb. “Oh holy fuck,” he groaned, stumbling into a chair. He tripped over it but strong arms caught him, hauling him back up.

“Tommy?” He felt a large hand on his cheek and looked up, suddenly feeling really shitty when he saw the upset look on Adam’s face.

“Sorry,” he got out, only to gasp, reaching up to grab his face in pain. “Fuck my jaw,” he groaned and Adam winced.

“Your mouth’s bleeding,” he said and Tommy wiped at his chin, coming back with bloody fingers. “Damn it, TommyJoe, let’s get you out of here,” he said, hooking an arm around his waist to help him out as they all quickly made their exit before they were arrested for their bar fight.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When everybody had caught up to them outside the bar and down the street, Tommy was leaning against the lamp post, eyes shut and teeth gritted, clearly not really paying attention to what Adam was shouting at him.

“The fuck was that, Tommy?!” Monte shouted as he got closer.

“Seriously, that bastard elbowed me in the ribs, damn it,” Terrance said as he walked over.

Taylor crossed his arms. “Hey, Tommy probably had a good reason-“

“Oh fuck that he got in a bar-fight-“

Adam turned and glared. “ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!” he shouted loudly, voice shocking them all into silence. He leaned over beside Tommy, who was hanging onto the pole as he spat blood on the ground. “Tommy, do you need a doctor?” he asked seriously.

“No,” Tommy choked out. He spit more blood and groaned. “Maybe,” he admitted, wiping his hand across his mouth. “My mouth is really bleeding,” he said, spitting once more.

Adam cringed. “Well mouth wounds tend to bleed a lot,” he said and Tommy groaned, leaning heavily against the pole. “Alright, I’ll call Lane, she’ll find the nearest hospital,” he said and Tommy nodded, still clinging to the pole.

As Adam stepped away to make a call, Brooke walked over, cringing. “Your face is swelling on that side,” she said, nodding to the left side.

“Got kicked in the face,” Tommy said weakly. “And my back’s killing me where I hit the bar,” he admitted, unable to stand straight from both his back and the fact he would bleed down his shirt.

“What the fuck happened, TommyJoe?” she asked, squatting so he didn’t have to look up at her.

He cringed. “Homophobes,” he said softly and he saw her jaw clench. “They were being dicks but when Taylor started dancing they started talking shit about all of you guys so I asked them to shut up and then Adam walked in and they started on calling the leader of the group of pussies and fags and shit like that and I flew off the handle,” he admitted apologetically. “But he called me a fag. I hate that word. I hate it so much,” he said and she nodded.

“Me too,” she said, then rubbed his arm. “You don’t have to get violent to stand up for us though, Tommy,” she said and he groaned.

“I didn’t think. I just did. They were such massive assholes and I ignored it but they just kept on even when I asked them to shut up and when I stood up for Adam he called me a ‘sick fuck’ and I just lost it,” he said, gritting his teeth as pain seized up his back, sending him down to his knees. 

“Tommy?” she asked in concern, grabbing him around the upper arm to keep him from falling over. “Tommy?!” she asked again, when he didn’t speak, too busy grinding his teeth together in pain and clinging to the post to stay upright, hands a mix of red and white as they gripped the pole tightly.

Monte was over in an instant. “Tommy, what’s wrong?” he asked and Tommy shook his head, face drawn tight in pain. “Tommy, at least look at me,” he said and Tommy opened his eyes, clearly in pain. “Tommy, are you okay?”

Tommy shook his head, biting his lip, only to finally stop so he could spit out a little more blood. “My back is seized up,” he gritted out, exhaling sharply, leaning his head against the pole. “Oh my fuck it hurts,” he said, fingers shaking against the pole he clung so tightly to.

“Tommy?” Tommy’s eyes flickered up as he heard the small note on the end of Adam’s voice speaking his name that showed exactly how uneasy Adam was. He could see him standing just behind Monte, watching him.

“I’m okay,” he said as steadily as he could.

“The fuck you are,” Brooke said, watching him as he struggled to sit straighter, leaning back so he wasn’t hunched over. “You could have something really bad wrong with your back,” she said, squeezing his arm when he tried to move more. “Sit still.”

“What’s wrong with your back?” Adam asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“That guy picked me up and slammed me against the bar,” Tommy got out, biting his lip to hold in a whimper as his back seized up again.

Adam paled. “Fucking hell, Tommy, what the fuck did you do to piss them off so bad?” he asked, looking out at the street waiting for the car Lane had called to come get them.

Monte snorted. “Punched the guy in the face,” he said and Adam shot Tommy a glare.

“You hit first?!” he asked and Tommy narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, I don’t need the lecture, I’m paying for it already if you can’t see the blood pouring out of my mouth,” he growled.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
At the hospital, Adam stood off to the side while the doctor examined Tommy’s mouth and then his back. When he finished, having instructed Tommy to keep a gauze pad in his mouth until the worst of the bleeding stopped, he turned to Adam. “He doesn’t need to talk for the rest of the night. At all. Probably not much tomorrow if he can help it,” he instructed and Adam nodded.

“Okay, so is the cut that bad?” he asked.

“Well mouth cuts heal fairly quickly, but if he talks it will just make it take that much longer to heal,” he informed him. “As for his back, I don’t see any sign of any major damage, mostly just a lot of bruising. The seizing up is probably just a result of the pain, but if he has any real problems after a few days, get him to a doctor to check for muscle tearing,” he said and Tommy’s eyes widened some. “Otherwise, over the counter pain medication should be good enough, with some ice for twenty minute cycles for a day or two, and he’ll be fine.”

The doctor went to get the forms for Tommy to sign and Adam turned to him. “When we get back to the hotel, you and I are having a very long discussion,” he said and Tommy just shot him a look. “Well, I’ll talk and you listen,” he corrected and Tommy rolled his eyes dramatically.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy lay on the bed with his shirt off and an icepack lying on his upper back. He was lying silently while Adam paced, going on and on about his behavior and how he set an example for kids who looked up to him and how violence wasn’t the answer.

“And!” he said with an air of finality. “As my husband, you reflect on me. Now I’m going to probably have to pay a settlement for those guys when they press charges against you,” he said. “And all of the world will know my husband got in a bar fight,” he finished.

Tommy raised up on his elbows, wincing, then reached out, miming writing. He mimed typing and Adam rolled his eyes. “Here,” he said, grabbing his phone off the table, handing it to Tommy.

Tommy quickly typed something out then handed the phone to Adam. _They were being jerks! Those homophobes were annoying and I ignored them but then they started picking on Taylor dancing and calling the whole table a bunch of pussies._

“Do you really think that’s a good enough reason to punch him in the face?! God you’re a violent little shit!” he bitched, only to have Tommy sit up, wincing visibly, and snatch the phone back.

_He called you a fag! What would it look like if it got out somebody called my husband a fag and I didn’t knock his head off?_

Adam read it then sighed, rolling his eyes. “I’m not a girl, Tommy. You don’t have to jump to my defense, okay? I don’t give a shit who calls me a fag. I’m going to be thirty next week, I’m used to it,” he pointed out. Tommy just looked at him hard. “Damn it, don’t do that,” he said, whining. “Thank you for defending me,” he said begrudgingly. “But it still doesn’t make it okay to hit people over it.” Tommy held out his hand and Adam handed the phone back. “Nothing you say will make it okay that people are going label you violent and anger-prone,” he said simply.

Tommy made a sound, snorting. _I’d rather people call me violent than a pussy. I don’t care about how fake out marriage is, you’re still my best friend and only a pussy would let someone say horrible things without reacting. Maybe it was too far but I don’t regret it and I’ll do it again if somebody can’t take a hint._

Adam read it and then sighed, sitting down beside Tommy, who rolled his shoulders gingerly. “Tommy, standing up for me is great for the image and it’s really sweet as my best friend, but the fact of it is, this isn’t high school, TommyJoe,” he said, looking at him. “You could seriously get arrested for assault now,” he pointed out. “If they report you, you could get in serious trouble.”

Tommy just shrugged, only to freeze, wincing. Adam cringed, sighing. “Here, let me help you,” he said, gently helping Tommy shift back around to lying on his stomach without too much strain. He grabbed the ice pack and towel and gently laid it on Tommy’s back. “You’re bruising really bad,” he said softly, looking at the angry bruise covering most of the top left of Tommy’s back. He leaned over and looked at Tommy’s face. “Your face is too,” he said and Tommy just sighed, closing his eyes. Adam shook his head lying down beside Tommy, curling on his side to face him. “Please stop scaring me, Tommy,” he whispered and Tommy’s eyes opened wide. Adam bit his lip. “You can’t do shit like that. I can’t take all the stress of thinking about your behavior affecting our image and the stress of you being hurt.” He watched him as he frowned. “I don’t like seeing you hurt,” he said simply, shrugging. “I don’t like seeing anybody hurt, but me and you are in this together. I rely on you for so much, you know?”

Tommy just reached out and took Adam’s hand, lacing their fingers together, offering him an apologetic smile. Adam knew Tommy was saying ‘sorry’ without even speaking a word.


	11. Chapter 11

Adam was sitting in Lane’s room, going through the internet for a report on Tommy’s fight the night before when Tommy knocked and then walked in. Adam gave him a glance then did a double-take. Tommy had been in the shower when he woke up and left so he hadn’t seen how purple the side of his face was. “Tommy!” he gasped.

Tommy nodded, cringing as he walked over. He sat down beside Adam on the bed, tucking himself into Adam’s side. He curled his knees over against Adam’s thigh as he laid his head on Adam’s chest, arms going around his middle. Adam curled his arms around Tommy, kissing the top of his head. “Hurts,” Tommy said softly.

“Shhh, you shouldn’t be talking,” Adam said and Tommy shook his head.

“I’m okay, I mean, I won’t be eating potato chips or shouting or anything, but I can talk as long as I don’t open my mouth too much,” he said, looking up at him.

Adam just cringed, looking at his face. “Fuck, that looks like it hurts so bad,” he said, gently angling Tommy’s face so he could see the massive bruise on his cheekbone.

“Does,” he whimpered, curling closer to Adam again. Adam just held him, stroking his hair soothingly. “How bad is it?” Tommy asked, voice muffled by Adam’s shirt.

Adam sighed. “Well so far, nothing, but we also got away with being married for a week,” he said and Tommy nodded.

Lane rolled her eyes at them. “You care to finally give me your side of it?” she asked and Tommy peeked up from his spot against Adam’s chest.

“Well… who’d you talk to so far?” he asked and she snorted.

“Brooke said the most. I think she thought you did the right thing. Monte called you a jackass. Terrance was bitching about how you got him some fucked up bruises on his side.”

Tommy sighed. “They were talking shit when I got up to the bar. I heard them talking about Adam and thought ‘huh, what a coincidence, Americans and they’re talking about Adam’ but then I heard them saying shit about how disgusting he was and crap and I bit my tongue and ordered drinks,” he said. “Then they started on about the guys at the table cause they were all wearing makeup and Taylor was doing some little dance and making them laugh and they called them all names. I asked them to stop and they just kept on and kept pushing so I told them to shut the fuck up but then Adam walked in,” he said and Adam sighed, shaking his head.

Lane hummed. “Let me guess, they said something about Adam,” she said and Tommy nodded sheepishly.

“They called him a fag and I told them to shut the fuck up about my husband,” Lane snorted and Adam shot her a look. “And when they called me sick when I told them that was my husband, I lost it and knocked his lights out,” he said, only to cringe. “Unlucky for me, his buddy was big and didn’t take kindly to me smacking his friend. I kinda don’t know who I did what to but it hurt. A lot. And then Isaac was dragging me out and Adam was dragging me out and I pretty much zoned out while I was busy spitting out half the blood in my body on the sidewalk,” he said simply. “And I told Brook what they did and why I got in a fight. She probably wishes she’d have been the one over there when they talked shit,” he said.

“Brooke has some sense, she wouldn’t fight over words,” Adam chastised.

Tommy snorted. “Brooke’s got some big muscles for a girl. She’d have laid their asses out before they could fight back. Look,” he said to them both, sitting up. “I couldn’t have looked at myself in the mirror without wanting to kick my own ass if I hadn’t reacted the way I did. I know it’s not nice for our image, but pretend or not, Adam is my husband. You don’t just deal with people saying terrible things about your spouse and not kick their asses!” he said simply. “You just don’t. And THAT is what it’ll look like for our ‘image’. That I’m a loving, devoted husband,” he said simply. “And on a personal level, I can look my best friend in the eyes and not feel ashamed of letting some bastards get away with calling him disgusting shit like they were,” he said firmly.

Lane just sighed. “Fine, if it gets out, we’re spinning so that it looks like you were being harassed by two homophobes and overreacted when they pulled Adam’s name into it,” she informed him, not leaving room for interpretation. “You will apologize for being hotheaded but explain that you only did it because you were already being harassed and that they made you snap because you are desperately protective of your husband,” she said and Tommy nodded.

“I can do that,” he agreed, and Adam sighed.

“God I hope it works.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There were a few photos leaked out of Tommy without makeup over the next few days as his face was bruised, but there were no reports of the bar fight, amazingly enough. They counted themselves lucky.

However, Tommy was heading to get lunch with Taylor and Sasha, since Adam was doing press things all day in that town, when he and the others noticed they were being followed by some people with cameras from different locations. “What the fuck? I usually don’t get followed when I’m not with Adam,” Tommy said softly and Taylor shrugged.

“No idea-“

They were just turning a corner when someone shouted to them. “What do you say to the allegations that your husband hit you, Tommy?” 

Tommy stopped quickly, turning around, only to see a woman standing in a doorway a few feet back. “Excuse me?” he demanded, only to suddenly hear the clicks of tons of shutters from across the street.

She held up a recorder. “Reports are circulating that the bruise on your face is because your husband hit you. Care to comment?” she asked and Tommy just stared. “For the record, he’s staring at me in fear,” she said and Tommy growled.

“I’m not staring in fear, I’m shocked!” he said, walking over to her, shrugging of Sasha, who tried to stop him. “Who told you that my husband beat me?”

Her eyes lit up. “So you’re saying it’s true-“

“NO!” he cried suddenly, paling. “Oh my God, no!” he denied. “Adam wouldn’t hurt me, he’d never hurt anybody. He’s a pacifist-“

“Then who hit you if it wasn’t Adam?”

“None of your damn business,” he said. “Besides, who said someone hit me? I ran into a door,” he said and she gave him an incredulous look.

“A door did that? Did you run into it or did someone slam a door on you?” she snorted and he glared.

“My face is not your concern and my husband _did not_ hurt me! Adam loves me, he wouldn’t hit me if his life depended on it,” he spat, then turned to stalk away.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam was in the middle of doing an interview for a radio show when Lane’s phone buzzed in the corner. The host shot her a disapproving look as she answered it. Adam glanced over, only to see her pale suddenly. As soon as they went to commercial and the host cut the button to play the ads and a song before they were due back for a few more minutes of interviewing him, Lane was on her feet and she rushed over.

“Adam, we’ve got big problems,” she said and he tugged off the headphones, ignoring the host telling him they only had four minutes between the ads and the song.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and she glanced at the host, seeming to weigh the options of saying it out loud before dropping her voice as low as she could and him still hear her.

“Tommy just texted. He was just followed out to lunch by dozens of photographers and then accosted by a woman with a recorder and asked what he had to say about you beating him-“

“WHAT?!” Adam cried loudly, not even caring who he startled. “Wait, really, _what_?!?”

She shrugged. “The way he puts it, the photos of his bruise brought up allegations that you hit him. He told her you’d never hurt him and told her to fuck off but still… the idea’s out and there are photos of Tommy with a bruised face.”

“Oh my God,” he said, putting his head in his hands. “Holy fuck, this is insane! It’s so fucking serious!”

She nodded. “This is _serious_. Bad serious. Now that it’s out there will be some people you won’t ever convince that you didn’t hit him,” she said.

Adam snorted. “And next week is my birthday. Best present ever for someone turning thirty. Abuse allegations.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam got back to the hotel and cringed when he saw Tommy sitting on the foot of the bed with his laptop, pale and worried looking as he looked at something. “How bad is it?” he asked softly, kicking off his boots.

Tommy cringed. “Not good,” he said, reaching out for Adam’s hand when he came close enough. “I’m so sorry,” he said and Adam just shook his head.

“It’s not your fault, Glitterbaby,” he said, kissing Tommy’s temple as he sat beside him, leaning their heads together as they read through the tweets together, drawing support and strength from each other.

Most of the tweets were ‘No way did @adamlambert hit @TommyJoeRatliff he loves him!’ but there were always those every few minutes who tweeted ‘I can’t believe @adamlambert is an abusive bastard’ and even the occasional ‘@TommyJoeRatliff deserves better than that violent mother fucker of a husband he has. @adamlambert shouldn’t get away with it.’

Neither of them tweeted anything under strict orders from Lane, but Tommy was itching to deny the claims and send a blanket ‘fuck you very much’ to the people who started the rumors. Adam just sat still beside him, head still leaned against Tommy’s. Tommy sighed and shifted, back still hurting, only to turn and slide his arm around Adam’s middle, laying his head on his shoulder. “Adam, don’t worry. I won’t let them think you beat me,” he said.

Adam sighed, shaking his head sadly. “Nothing you do will help. Abused wives all the time swear up and down their husband loves them and doesn’t hurt them, even when they’re standing there with black eyes.” He looked at Tommy. “There will always be some people who think you’re just scared of me hurting you worse so you’re lying when you say I didn’t hit you.”

Tommy just grumbled. “I hate them. You’re the sweetest man alive most of the time and those bastards are calling you violent.” He looked up. “Have you ever hit anybody in your life?” he asked.

Adam snorted. “Neil, but I stopped when I was like… twelve and realized it wasn’t okay to beat up your little brother,” he said. He sighed. “I used to torment the fuck out of Neil. I was bigger and I could do stuff that he couldn’t and I never let him forget it either.”

Tommy chuckled, snuggling into his side. “Did he ever resent you for it?” he asked.

Adam hummed. “I don’t think he really did, honestly. I was horrible to him and I think he still loved me, no matter what. Brothers, huh?” he said and Tommy laughed.

“You’re not his real brother, you’re not a human,” he said and Adam snorted, rolling his eyes.

“I promise, I’m very human,” Adam said, bumping their heads together. “Aliens aren’t ginger,” he said and Tommy laughed, shaking his head.

“Great logic,” he said and Adam grinned playfully. Tommy just shook his head. “This is never going to get easier, is it?” he asked softly.

Adam shrugged, sighing. “Probably not, but look at it this way,” he said softly as he absently pushed Tommy’s bangs from his face. “We’re in it together,” he said.

Tommy nodded. “Always,” he said without any hesitation.


	12. Chapter 12

For several days they didn’t comment or openly react, but it was only getting worse. There were photos of Tommy and zooms on his cheek. Even through the makeup, it was easy to see the swelling and a lot of people had picked up on him moving gingerly from the bruises on his back, so there was speculation about what all injuries his clothes were hiding. Before Adam’s birthday, however, it came to the point they had to react when the photos went from rumors on minor blogs to being featured on the _cover_ of _People_ magazine.

“Oh God,” Adam said weakly as he looked at the photo his mom had sent of a cover from the check-out line featuring a photo of them together and then a few insets of Tommy with a massive bruise on his face with the headlines ‘Trouble in Paradise? New Abuse Allegations Against Star’.

Tommy looked over his shoulder only to pale. “Fuck.”

“What’s up?” Monte asked from across the lounge, watching television.

Tommy slid down beside Adam, taking his hand comfortingly. “We’ll talk to Lane and react,” he said, squeezing his hand. He leaned over and closed the laptop. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, reaching up to turn Adam’s face to his. Adam looked scared. Tommy stroked his cheek and leaned closer, leaning their heads together. “I promise you, Babyboy, it’s going to be okay.”

“But what if it’s not and I’m labeled an abusive bastard?” he asked weakly, worrying his lip as he looked at Tommy. “They think I hurt you, Tommy. No matter what, some people are always going to think that now!”

Tommy shrugged. “The fuck ‘em. I will say over and over again as much as I have to that you have never hurt me. You never would and they have to know it,” he said.

Adam just sighed. “I just worry so much,” he said weakly.

Tommy sighed letting go of Adam’s hand and face to get to his knees and wrap his arms around Adam’s shoulders, catching him when he collapsed against Tommy, shaking with emotions. Tommy just held him, playing with his hair soothingly while Monte watched in concern. Tommy just bit his lip and pressed a kiss to the top of Adam’s head, giving him as much strength and support as he could by comforting him.

Monte looked shaken to see Adam, one of the strongest people any of them had ever met, near a breakdown.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lane looked at the story on the website for the magazine and sighed, shaking her head. “It’s all speculation and the time to be quiet is over,” she said simply. “I’ve talked to some people and the story is really circulating now. Our best hope is for you guys to deny them, defend each other, try and act as devoted and happily married as you can, and- I can’t believe I’m saying this-“ she cringed. “Throw in a little PDA,” she said and Tommy snickered.

“Wait, you’re _asking_ us to behave like horny teenagers when you specifically advised against us being any more touchy-feely in public than hand-holding?” he asked and she sighed.

“That was to try and not instigate the homophobes, this is to dispel rumors that your husband _abuses_ you,” she stressed and Adam cringed.

“Well, are you okay with that?” Adam asked Tommy. “On stage is one thing, but-“

Tommy glared. “I suggested we go along with this marriage to not give ourselves a bad image. I gave you permission to kiss me on stage when we’d barely become friends just to shake things up. What the hell makes you think that after more than two years of being right there with you that I’d suddenly develop an issue with gaying it up with you?” he asked with an annoyed look. “Just because I don’t personally like cock doesn’t mean it’s a chore to pretend I do and besides, a kiss is a kiss, no matter what’s between the legs of the person I’m kissing,” he said. “I’m not offering to ‘leak’ a sex tape or anything, but I’m already pretty used to holding hands with you everywhere and I think I’d have more trouble remembering _not_ to curl up next to you. Making out in public is totally fine by me.”

Adam smiled. “You’re nothing like anybody I’ve ever met, Glitterbaby,” he said, shaking his head.

Tommy snorted. “Well duh, we established long ago that I’m just fucking awesome,” he said, grinning at Adam, who laughed. “Alright so what, we go out in public, act all schmoopy and sappy, make out a little, then I tell people who ask about him hitting me that my husband wouldn’t hurt anybody, but especially not me?” 

Lane sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but yeah… exactly.”

“Sweet, we can do that,” Adam said, then made a dramatic show of curling his arm around Tommy’s waist, fingers sliding up the side of his shirt to rest on his hip. “Hey baby,” he said and Tommy smirked, sliding his arms around Adam, pressing into his chest. 

“This work, Lane?” he asked, making a show of pressing as close to Adam’s body as he could.

She just snorted. “Oh God you two will be the death of me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
For Adam’s birthday, they were all going out to dinner and then to a club. A few people who were in the area were joining them and Neil was flying out to join the tour a few days earlier than they had planned for him to so that he could help look out for Tommy. Lane had suggested security for Tommy but Adam knew Tommy would get defensive so he agreed to get Neil to look out for him under the guise of just hanging out.

“Alright, how do I look?” Tommy asked, coming out of the bathroom. 

Adam looked up and his breath caught. Tommy was wearing a tee-shirt he’d seen a lot but the leather jacket he was wearing was new and it fit Tommy so well it showed off his small frame without making him look too small. Also, his hair was fluffy and mussed in all the right ways. His makeup was less dramatic than on stage, but his purple eye makeup and subtle lip-gloss made his eyes look dramatic and sultry. “You look amazing,” he said, a little surprised. “Damn, you make me sick,” he said and Tommy grinned.

“You look gorgeous, dude,” he said, taking in the gray jeans and black blazer. “Tall bastard,” he said, pouting playfully.

Adam just smiled. “Seriously, people probably think I married you for your pretty,” he said, then grabbed his shoes, sitting on the bed to put them on. “Alright, so, we’re walking. I hope you’re not wearing creepers,” he said and Tommy grinned.

“Is that your way of telling me ‘don’t wear them’?” he asked and Adam grinned.

“You know me so well, Tommy.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy smiled when Adam grabbed his hand on the way across the lobby. “Look, dragging me along isn’t going to help your image,” he said, tugging Adam to slow down.

Adam sighed. “But you walk slow,” he whined, slowing down some.

Tommy nudged his hip with their laced fingers. “I don’t have mile-long legs,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes.

“My legs aren’t that long-“

“Dude, you have noticed that most men are longer from the waist up than waist down and you’re not, right?” he asked and Adam shrugged.

“I buy long jeans-“

“Exactly!” Tommy said. “When I wear your pajamas I have to roll them like… halfway up so I don’t trip,” he pointed out, earning a wide smile.

“I know, you’re cute in my pajamas,” Adam said, then frowned when Tommy dropped his hand, only to slide his arm around Adam’s waist, stepping into his side.

“Photographers are watching,” Tommy said softly, tugging Adam’s arm around him.

Adam smiled. “Thanks,” he said, careful of Tommy’s still-sore back. His face was mostly healed, though still discolored some, but his back had a deeper bruise so it still hurt him. Adam wrapped his arm around Tommy’s shoulders instead, tugging him into his side. 

“Think we look lovey-dovey enough?” he asked and Tommy looked up, smirking as he slid his hand into Adam’s back pocket.

“Now we do!” he said and Adam laughed, squeaking when Tommy squeezed his butt.

“Tommy!” he cried, tugging Tommy’s hand out of his pocket, laughing at his own reaction. “Not cool,” he said with pink cheeks when Tommy shook his head, grinning at Adam’s squeak.

“Very manly, Lambert. Very manly,” he said, bumping his head against Adam’s shoulder.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy and Adam were the last ones to get to the restaurant. When they got there, Brooke was waiting to take them to the back, where they’d gotten a private room so that they wouldn’t be harassed during dinner. “Hey guys, everybody’s here already!” She lead them back, turning around. “You won’t believe who Tommy snuck out here!” she said and Tommy grinned at the look Adam gave him.

“What did you do?” he asked suspiciously.

Tommy grinned. “You’ll hate me and love me at the same time,” he said, walking ahead of Adam, tugging him along by the hand he was holding. 

When they walked into the room, Adam smiled widely at the giant ‘happy birthday!’ everybody yelled at him. Tommy grinned. “Happy birthday, Adam,” he said sweetly, squeezing Adam’s hand.

“Yo, bitch! Give me a hug!” Adam beamed when Brad hopped up and ran to hug him. 

“Oh my God!” he said, hugging him tight. “You shit, why didn’t I know you were coming?!” he asked, shoving Brad back.

Brad just grinned. “TommyJoe paid for me to fly out as a surprise. Said you could use a friend for your birthday,” he said and Adam turned to smile at Tommy, who was already sitting down at the table. Tommy caught his eye and just shrugged.

“How the fuck did you keep a secret?” Adam asked, walking around to sit beside Tommy, looking at him suspiciously.

“I wanted you to have a good birthday. It’s been tough lately and Cheeks makes everybody smile,” he offered, grinning when Adam gave him a _real_ smile, one that made his eyes light up.

“Aww, thank you, TommyJoe,” he said, then noticed Lane nodding at Tommy with a pointed look. He raised an eyebrow and she mouthed something.

“What’re you looking at?” Tommy asked, amused by the confused look on Adam’s face, only to turn and see Lane making faces at them. He saw her mouth something and then grinned. “I think,” he said loudly and pointedly as he turned to Adam. “She’s trying to make sure you don’t start kissing me and ruin everybody’s meal,” he said, flickering his eyes at Brad.

Adam’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he said, then turned a grin at Lane. “Well I wasn’t gonna but if you’re gonna try and stop me, maybe I will,” he threatened and she slapped herself in the head.

“Woohoo, sexytimes!” Brad teased and Tommy laughed, but quickly tilted his chin up for a small kiss just to keep up their ruse.

“We shouldn’t upset Lane,” Tommy said, then leaned into Adam’s side, letting Adam put an arm around him. They had both forgotten that Brad didn’t know their marriage was fake. “So, Neil,” he said, turning to Neil, who was a few people down. “The fuck are you doing here?” he joked and everybody laughed.

Neil snorted. “Somebody’s got to help look out for bastards who think my brother smacks you around,” he said and Tommy glared at Neil even before Adam tensed beside him. 

“This is not the time to talk about bullshit,” Tommy said, turning to Adam, who looked troubled even through his smile. 

“Oh I saw that!” Brad said from across the table. “Holy shit, I was like ‘dude, Adam would never hurt anybody!’ and then I thought ‘well Tommy is annoying’ but I know Adam wouldn’t really hit you-“

“Damn straight he didn’t hit me!” Tommy confirmed. He leaned closer to Adam, trying to let him know it was okay. “Adam wouldn’t hurt anybody, especially me,” he said.

“Of course not,” Adam said, kissing the top of Tommy’s head. 

“Alright, well whatever, we’ll deal with that shit later,” Tommy said, then smiled. “For now, what the hell kind of party is this? I don’t see booze or food,” he said and Adam grinned.

“Damn straight,” he said, kissing the side of Tommy’s head before letting him go so they weren’t all over each other anymore.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy raised an eyebrow as he saw Adam texting again. He had been texting before they left, at the restaurant, and in the car on the way to the club. Now, as they got out, he was texting again. “Who do you keep talking to?” he asked as he put his phone away and they headed into the club.

Adam smiled. “Well-“ As soon as they got into the club itself, however, Tommy couldn’t hear Adam over the music, though he was still going. However, when Adam seemed to already have a destination in mind as Tommy started looking for a table, Tommy followed him, everybody else trailing behind, and spotted someone he sure as hell hadn’t expected to see.

Adam pulled away and ran to hug the one who was clearly saving the big table for all of them. “Oh my God, it’s so great to see you!” he said, smiling down at Sauli before he pulled away. “I was just telling Tommy how you missed the train so you couldn’t make it to dinner,” he said, turning. “He was saving us a table since he missed dinner,” he explained to Brooke, who came up to greet Sauli.

Sauli turned to Tommy, who held out his hand to shake. “Hey man, didn’t know you were coming,” he said, shooting a look at Adam, who didn’t seem to notice anything off.

“Yeah, Adam mentioned the birthday plans a few days ago and I was going to be in the country so he invited me,” he said with a shrug.

Tommy just nodded, then turned to see who had grabbed his arm, only to see Brooke tugging at him. “What?”

“You need to get in before any of us can sit down,” she said and he looked to see Adam was seated and they were waiting for him to slide into the booth beside him. He nodded and crawled across the seat, flopping down beside Adam, turning immediately to talk with Taylor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After a few rounds of dancing and several rounds of drinking, Neil and Monte were snickering and nudging each other as they watched the scene across from them. 

Adam had spent a good part of the night having a side conversation with Sauli, the two of them only joining the main conversation at certain points, and, much to the amusement of everyone who noticed, Tommy didn’t seem to like it one bit. He’d had a bit much to drink and was well on his way to actually being in Adam’s lap if he slid any closer. 

Adam was laughing at something Sauli said and Tommy had clearly had enough. “Adam,” he said in a slightly slurry voice. “Come dance with me,” he said, tugging Adam’s face around to him. “I want to dance,” he said with wide, open eyes.

Adam snickered. “I think you’ve had too much to drink, baby,” he said, but rolled his eyes when Tommy pouted. “Alright, alright, we’ll go dance,” he said, getting the others to slide out so they could get out of the booth. Tommy smirked like he wasn’t even trying to hide it when he and Adam turned to go do the dance floor, ignoring the snickers he heard as they disappeared into the crowd.

“Are you having fun tonight,” Tommy asked, slinging his arms around Adam’s waist as he walked backwards, letting Adam guide him to an empty spot amongst the bodies around them.

Adam chuckled at how drunk Tommy was. “Yeah baby, great fun,” he said, catching Tommy’s hips as they started dancing. Tommy never danced much unless he was drunk off his ass, so Adam found it amusing how fluid his movements were in his clearly more than tipsy state. “I love seeing my friends I don’t see often!” he said and Tommy snorted, leaning closer to Adam.

“I sure didn’t expect to see Sauli,” he admitted and Adam smiled.

“I thought I mentioned him coming. I was so happy to see him. We didn’t talk for a while and when we did start talking again, I haven’t seen him but once since,” he said.

Tommy hummed. “So you’ve missed him?” he asked and Adam shrugged.

“Well, we split up because it was too hard to deal with the distance and we didn’t think we loved each other enough to fight for it, but I still loved him for a long time,” he admitted. “I’m over it now, but God, his smile still makes me feel like I missed a step doing down the stairs,” he said and Tommy glowered over at the table. Adam raised an eyebrow. “What?” he asked.

Tommy shrugged. “Nothing,” he said, turning to press his back against Adam’s chest, looking up at him. 

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Nothing sounds like something,” he said. “I thought you liked him. You hung out with us enough when we dated. You seemed to like him then,” he said.

Tommy shrugged. “He left you and you were really sad. It kind of made me hate him,” he admitted, reaching up to slide his hands around the back of Adam’s neck, pressing their bodies flush. “I hate when you’re upset,” he said forcefully and Adam smiled, kissing his cheek.

“Aww, you’re the sweetest thing, Tommy,” he said, hugging him as best he could in their position. “And don’t worry too much, it’s not like he broke my heart,” he said.

Tommy hummed, turning to face Adam, sliding his fingers into Adam’s hair as he held him so close they were touching from chest to knees. “He wouldn’t be sitting there if he had,” he said drunkenly, looking up at Adam. “Boys aren’t allowed to break my husband’s heart,” he said, looking up into his eyes.

Adam grinned. “Something sounds off with that sentence,” he teased, but hugged Tommy close, pressing his nose into Tommy’s hair as they stopped really dancing. “Thank you, though.”

Tommy smiled sweetly up at him, shrugging. “‘S what I’m for,” he said, pressing a smacking kiss to Adam’s cheek as he stood on his toes, then swayed. “Whoa, dancing isn’t agreeing with me,” he said.

Adam snickered. “We’ve stopped dancing,” he pointed out and Tommy hummed.

“Let’s go sit then,” he suggested with a serious expression and Adam grinned.

“What am I gonna do with you, TommyJoe?” he said, shaking his head with a fond smile.


	13. Chapter 13

When they climbed onto the bus to head to the next city, Lane greeted a hung-over Tommy and sympathetic Adam with a printed picture and a glare. It was a photo of Adam and Sauli leaning close together chatting with the headline “Cheating Scandal?” across the page.

“Oh son of a _bitch_!” Adam groaned. 

Tommy scoffed. “Cheating my ass, I’m totally hotter than him,” he said and Adam shot him an incredulous look.

“Yeah, but it’s a photo of me talking to my ex, leaning close so we could talk over the music, and they cut you out of it! You were right there, I think that’s even your sleeve!” he said, pointing to a bit of leather on Adam’s side.

“What happened to the PDA you promised me?” Lane asked, shooting Tommy a look.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “It’s tactless to make out with a guy in front of his ex, even if I would’ve liked to been all ‘haha, look what you gave up’. I’m not that much of an asshole,” he said.

She shoved the photo against his chest. “You are going to deny allegations on twitter and anywhere else you can and then, tomorrow you two are going out for lunch and then going shopping and you’re going to be as obvious as you can and throw on as much PDA as you can without getting arrested for public lewdness, have you got me?!” she demanded and Tommy nodded, shrinking back a little. “Good.”

When she walked off, Tommy squeaked. “I think I may have actually just pissed myself out of fear,” he said and Adam laughed, shaking his head.

“You aren’t right, Tommy,” he said, then sighed. “Alright, come on, you’re still hung-over, I’m still tired, and we don’t have to do anything for a few hours. Let’s sleep,” he suggested and Tommy nodded, letting Adam guide him to their bed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam was doing his makeup while Tommy posted his first tweet in over a week.

 _I want it to be made clear that my husband has never and would NEVER hit me! My husband loves me, I love him, and he has never hurt me._

He saw mostly replies that said ‘then where did the bruises come from?’ or ‘I knew he didn’t do it!’ and sighed. “Eventually we’ll have to do an interview and admit that I was in a bar fight,” Tommy said and Adam nodded solemnly.

“I figure,” he said, then turned. “Do I look good without making it obvious I’m expecting cameras?” he asked, pulling his beanie on his head, black sprigs sticking out here and there.

Tommy nodded, smiling. “You’re pretty without looking like you tried too hard,” he affirmed, then stood up. “Ready to go?” he asked.

Adam nodded, but caught Tommy’s hands. “I swear I’m not saying I think you have a problem with kissing me, but do you really feel comfortable with the whole ‘planned PDA’ thing? I mean, I’m not big on PDA when it’s not for show either, so I want to know you’re doing this and not hating it too terribly,” he said, looking down into his eyes.

Tommy scoffed. “Fuck that, I’m more than on board. I have no problems kissing you, you’re a pretty damn good kisser,” he teased and Adam smiled. “And even if I had a problem, I’d still _want_ to do this to try and prove you aren’t hurting me and that our relationship is fine.”

Adam smiled. “Are you sure you can act for this? I mean, I’m a good actor but you know they’ll analyze every bit and they’ll see if you’re not into it.”

Tommy just smiled up at him. “Adam, you seemed to have missed the ‘great kisser’ part. Hell, I could honestly almost guarantee I’ve never had better kisses, which is pretty pathetic since all the ones we’ve had are for show,” he teased and Adam grinned.

“You’re too much,” he said, but pulled him into a short hug. “Thank you.”

Tommy kissed his cheek. “Let’s go have lunch, go shopping, then make out,” he said and Adam nodded with a mock serious face.

“Serious business of course,” he said and Tommy returned his grave look, eyes playful.

“Oh yes, very serious.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam and Tommy were sitting at a small table outside a restaurant, having lunch under the afternoon sun despite the January chill in the air. “Mmm this is really good,” Adam said and Tommy eyed his plate dubiously.

“What is it?” he asked.

Adam ate another bite and held up a finger until he was able to speak. “It’s this pasta thing,” he explained, then stabbed a piece. “Here,” he offered, holding out his fork. Tommy leaned over and ate the bite, sitting back thoughtfully. Adam smiled. “Not bad, huh?”

Tommy made an approving face. “Not bad,” he said and Adam smiled.

“Healthy too,” he added and Tommy snorted.

“Well duh, you’d never get something too bad for you,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes. 

“I do too, just not often. Besides, it’s yummy,” he said, shrugging.

Tommy chuckled. “I know, it’s just fun to tease,” he said, then ate another bite of his food, glancing over at the people walking past. One lady passing smiled at him and he smiled back, looking back at his plate without another thought.

Adam snickered. “Damn she was eyeing you like a piece of meat, baby,” he said and Tommy looked up.

“Huh, really?”

Adam snorted. “What, like you didn’t notice a hot chick checking you out,” he said and Tommy blinked as he realized that he really hadn’t.

“You know, honestly,” he started. “I didn’t even really pay attention to what she looked like,” he said and Adam raised an eyebrow. Tommy shrugged. “That’s weird, I wonder what caused that,” he pondered as he went back to eating. It wasn’t usual for a guy not to notice a hot girl, especially one checking him out, but he hadn’t. He’d actually only really paid much attention to girls when someone pointed them out to him or they made a joke in recent weeks. He could only figure the stress from tour and the bad press was keeping him preoccupied.

“So,” Adam said, interrupting his thoughts. “What do you feel like doing next?” he asked.

Tommy hummed. “Well, there’s some shops down the next street. You want to go look?” he asked and Adam shrugged, nodding.

“Sounds fun. I could do with buying something pretty for myself after all the shit I’ve put up with lately,” he said.

Tommy hummed. “I want to buy some pretty earrings,” he said and Adam snorted. “What?”

“You never wear anything but your silver hoops in all your piercings,” Adam said. “What’s the point of buying more silver hoops?” he asked.

Tommy smiled. “Well what do you want me to wear?” he asked and Adam eyed him with a hum.

“I don’t know, anything else will clash with your bar,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Well, silver, sure, but I don’t have to wear hoops. Want me to wear studs?” he asked.

Adam shook his head, scrunching up his nose. “Nah,” he said, then eyed Tommy. “I want to buy you a new necklace. You always wear the same ones, if any.” 

Tommy smiled. “Okay, we can pick out a necklace for me,” he said. “But only if I can pick one out for you.”

Adam grinned, nodding. “Deal.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam giggled as Tommy tried to talk him into buying the most obnoxious jewelry the store had. “No,” he said, looking at the chunky black and green beads Tommy had picked up.

“Aww, but they’ll match… absolutely nothing,” Tommy said, snickering.

“Exactly,” Adam said, snorting. He walked around the rack, then hummed. “Tommy, this would look pretty on you,” he said, then came back with a black leather choker with a peace-sign on the front.

Tommy eyed it and raised an eyebrow. “It would, huh?” he asked, taking it to hold to his throat, looking in the mirror. He shot Adam a look. “Uh-huh,” he said and Adam’s face went from laughing to playful, smirking.

“Uh-huh,” he stressed and Tommy grinned, giving him a flirty look.

“It’s a collar, Adam,” he said and Adam glanced over his shoulder at the shop-keeper, who was nearly staring, and gave him a darker look. 

“Exactly,” he said, leaning in some.

Tommy just chuckled low in his throat in amusement but took Adam’s bait, tilting his lips up to meet Adam’s in a slow, playful kiss. “Thinks so?” he mumbled against Adam’s lips between kisses.

Adam giggled softly. “Oh yeah,” he said, leaning after Tommy as he pulled back, keeping the kiss for a moment longer.

Tommy just rolled his eyes, putting the choker down. “Nice try,” he said and Adam laughed at Tommy’s reaction, smirking when he looked up and saw the shop keeper furiously texting. Tommy followed his eyes and turned back, smirking. “Score Adam,” he said, then nudged his hip, sliding past him in the narrow gap between shelves. “Come on, I really do want a necklace and there’s some black ones over here,” he said, tugging briefly at Adam’s shirt, hinting for him to follow.

Adam obeyed, walking with him, smiling when he picked a silver chain with a red guitar pick on it. “Look!” he said, holding it out.

Tommy chuckled. “So cheesy,” he said, then picked up a purple one beside it with a black chain. “We should get them,” he said, offering the purple and black one to Adam. “Matching necklaces,” he said and Adam beamed.

“Soooo cheesy,” he said, then nodded. “It’s perfect,” he said, offering Tommy the silver chained red one.

When they had bought their necklaces and put them on, they decided to go get ice cream, holding hands the whole way. Tommy had already picked up on the man following them with a camera so he made sure to throw Adam as many adoring smiles as he could and made sure to walk with his head leaning against Adam’s shoulder as well.

When they’d bought their ice cream, they sat down on the concrete bench outside the shop. Tommy looked at his cup of bright green ice cream and hummed. “What did you order me?” he asked and Adam smiled.

“Mint,” he said, then showed Tommy the contents of his cup. “Mine’s chocolate with like… brownie chunks in it,” he said, then grinned as he scooped up a large bite with his spoon, moaning slightly obscenely as he ate the first bite.

Tommy laughed. “Dude, you really love ice cream,” he teased, taking a bite of his as well, humming. “This is pretty good,” he admitted.

“Here, you have to try this,” Adam said, holding out a scoop for Tommy. Tommy turned his head and let Adam feed him, humming. Adam grinned. “Good, right?”

Tommy swallowed and nodded. “Totally,” he said, then turned to Adam, crossing his legs on the bench between them. “Here,” he said, offering Adam a bite of his. Adam ate it then moaned again.

“Holy shit, I’m going to be so fat,” he said, earning a laugh from Tommy. He eyed Tommy’s ice cream then smirked at Tommy, turning around to face him, feet on the ground on either side of the bench. “I’ve got an idea,” he said suddenly, eyeing Tommy menacingly.

Tommy hummed around his bite of ice cream. “Uh-oh,” he said and Adam snickered.

“Fair warning, this is actually pretty gross if you think about it, so just don’t,” he said, then suddenly leaned in to kiss Tommy. Tommy squeaked in surprise but recovered, leaning in closer when Adam’s hand curled around his neck and Adam kissed him pretty thoroughly, lapping into his mouth in teasing licks that made Tommy’s breath catch.

Tommy had to pull away, gasping. “I don’t have singer’s lungs,” he said and Adam smile sheepishly. Tommy frowned suddenly. “Dude… now I taste like mint and chocolate together,” he said and Adam grinned. 

“Exactly!” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“You’re ridiculous, Babyboy,” he said, smiling in amusement. “Besides,” he said slyly, giving Adam a teasing look. “If you wanted to kiss me so bad, just do it, don’t make excuses,” he said and Adam gave him flirty smirk.

Adam then leaned in close to Tommy, whispering in his ear. “Think Lane will be happy enough with our performance?” he asked.

Tommy laughed. “Not at all,” he said, biting his lip. “We should definitely do a better job,” he said and Adam laughed in surprise, shaking his head.

“Fine, but my ice-cream is melting,” he said, then looked up, glancing around. “You know, we’re probably the only people out in January in a cold ass place like this eating ice cream,” he noted.

Tommy shrugged. “Ice cream knows no weather, dude. And besides, it’s not that bad today with the sun out,” he said.

Adam chuckled. “Helps that you’ve got on about four shirts,” he teased and Tommy just flipped him off with the finger holding his spoon.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After they finished their ice creams, they sat on the bench facing each other, Tommy with his legs crossed on the bench and Adam with his feet on the ground. Adam was just waving a hand as he discussed his idea of changing a few dance moves. “Like, the part where Taylor comes over to me and then spins around? Like, I think it should be a little further-“

Tommy cut him off, startling him as he wordlessly leaned in and kissed him softly and slowly, hand curling around the back of Adam’s neck. When he broke the tiny kiss he smiled, pecking Adam’s lip. “You’re so beautiful when you’re excited,” he said softly, looking into Adam’s eyes. He knew Adam was smiling by the way the crinkled around the edges. Adam hated the lines, as they were clearly a sign of aging, but Tommy loved the way Adam’s eyes expressed so much with a simple smile.

Adam chuckled. “Thanks, baby,” he said, closing his eyes as he kissed Tommy. He leaned forward as they kissed slowly and languidly, ignoring anybody around them. Adam’s large hands rested high on Tommy’s thighs, thumbs playing back and forth along the rough denim. Tommy had one hand around the back of Adam’s neck and the other laying gently on the side of Adam’s face. Every once in a while, one of them would break the slow kisses for a series of tiny pecks that left both men smiling and laughing between kisses. 

It wasn’t until they were through shopping and on their way back to the bus, hands linked between them, that Tommy realized that, not only had he initiated most of their interaction, but he was pretty sure there were no photographers after the first kiss with the ice cream. He looked up at the happy smile on Adam’s face and thought about mentioning it, only to choose to not say anything that could take the peaceful, happy smile off of his husband’s face after all the stress he had been under lately.


	14. Chapter 14

“Dude!” Tommy looked up from where he was sitting on the couch, writing some more guitar parts out of boredom. Taylor bounded up. “Lane says the photos are all over the internet but dude, look at you!” he said, shoving his phone at Tommy, who grabbed it to look at the photo.

It was a photo of him and Adam walking together, hands laced between them. Adam was waving a hand, probably explaining something in that exaggerated fashion he often did. Tommy, however, felt his ears heating up when he looked at himself. In the photograph, he was looking up at Adam with a vacant smile. The photo was a close up, clear photo of them, clearly taken with a telephoto lens, which caught every detail of the adoring look in Tommy’s eyes as he smiled up at Adam. Tommy was shocked to see so much _affection_ displayed by his eyes and his adoring smile. He couldn’t remember really putting that much effort into trying to look desperately over the moon for his husband.

“Wow, I guess I’m a better actor than I thought,” he said and Taylor snorted.

“Hell yeah! God, you look so fucking in love that it _hurts_!” He slapped Tommy on the back with a grin. “Good job, dude! You fucking killed it!”

Tommy just hummed, thinking as he looked back at his guitar, not really seeing the strings under his fingers. The problem was, he _knew_ he hadn’t been trying that hard then. He had only really tried to act hopelessly happy and fake marital bliss when they had known a camera was aimed at him. He couldn’t quite decide what to make of that little fact.

“TommyJoe!” He looked up when Adam came sliding into the room, nearly falling. “Holy shit, did you see!” he cried, climbing around to sit beside Tommy. “Lane, show him!” he said and she laughed, offering him the laptop. Tommy handed his guitar to Adam to hold and took the laptop, scrolling down the page to see the photos.

He smiled when he looked at one of the ones of Adam feeding him ice cream. “Aww,” he teased and Adam smiled widely.

“We did so good,” he said, pressing a smacking kiss to Tommy’s cheek, making him laugh and scrunch up his nose. “Look at this one,” he said, scrolling down to one of them kissing.

Tommy’s heart actually skipped a beat as he saw how small and delicate his hand looked curved to hold Adam’s jaw. He was more shocked at how _romantic_ of a kiss it appeared to be from the angle of the photographer. “Are my hands really small like that?” he asked, looking at his hand, holding it up.

Adam snickered. “Not really, I’ve just got a big face,” he said, then reached out and flattened his hand against Tommy’s. “I’m a big dude so of course your hands look small,” he said and Tommy looked at how much larger Adam’s fingers were then smiled, lacing his and Adam’s fingers together before letting go.

Tommy wiggled around, leaning his head on Adam’s shoulder as they kept scrolling through all the photos, reading the speculations. “Look, they caught on to the necklaces,” he said and Adam smiled, leaning his cheek against Tommy’s head as they continued laughing and pointing out things in the photos. “And look, you’ve got ice cream on your chin!” Tommy said and Adam groaned as he looked at the picture. Tommy turned to him, grinning, only to have his breath catch as Adam looked down, smiling a wide, perfect smile. He was beautiful. Adam raised an eyebrow at Tommy’s expression and Tommy blinked, looking away quickly as he felt his cheeks burning.

Adam looked at him. “You okay?” he asked curiously and Tommy just nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said quickly, sitting up, away from Adam. “I just remembered I need to call my mom,” he said, standing up. He grabbed his guitar and quickly turned to walk out.

When Tommy got to their ‘room’, he quickly put his guitar down and then sat down heavily on the bed, putting his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what the _hell_ was going on. He wasn’t a good actor and he knew for a fact he _hadn’t_ been acting in those pictures, yet every picture looked convincing enough that probably even the most cynical person out there would have little doubt that the two of them were every bit in love as they wanted people to believe they were. He knew Adam was a good actor. Adam could slip into any emotion he needed at the drop of a hat, so it made sense from his side, but Tommy _couldn’t_ possibly be faking that well.

He looked up, sighing as he tried to wrap his head around the idea that maybe, possibly, he was straying into uncharted waters. When they had started out pretending to be married, Tommy had briefly wondered if there would come a time that the lines between their friendship and their ‘marriage’ might blur, but he’d quickly brushed the idea away because, obviously, heterosexuality would prevent that from happening.

But if he thought about it, there had been small signs that maybe it wasn’t so farfetched of a thing to imagine. The first two months had been rough and mostly what he had expected of two friends forced to live together without any planning. He hadn’t expected the way that planning their wedding and learning how to live together would affect them, but it still hadn’t felt any different than just figuring each other out. The first thing that should’ve tipped him off was the bar fight. He didn’t know why it hadn’t struck him at the time that his extreme reaction had been, for the most part, to them insulting his _husband_. 

Tommy groaned and fell over against the pillow, burying his face in them as he fought the thoughts flittering through his head. There were dots being connected that he really hadn’t realized even existed. The way he had reacted to Adam’s ex-boyfriend monopolizing his attention, the way he had slid so easily into their roles as partners in everyday situations, and even the way that, in what was honestly a pretty short amount of time, he’d grown so used to falling asleep in Adam’s arms…

All of it made so much sense when he considered the possibility that the feelings he’d been ‘faking’ might not actually be all that fake for him. Tommy groaned heavily, screaming into the pillow before he sighed and curled up on his side, knees against his chest. It couldn’t be possible, he argued with himself. He liked girls. He always had. Sure, Adam was an amazing kisser, and he was a handsome guy, but Tommy didn’t like guys. He had never been personally attracted to another man. Definitely not in a sexual manner.

And it wasn’t even like Adam was a feminine guy, someone Tommy’s mind MIGHT overlook the ‘has a dick’ issue with, Adam was a _man_. Physically, Adam would be the perfect example of ‘man’ in a dictionary with his broad shoulders, wide body, strong legs, large stature, a face which was the definition of masculine beauty, and, to be honest, though Tommy didn’t have firsthand experience, he was pretty sure Adam would be pretty much the perfect example of _male_ in the ‘has a dick’ way as well. All around, Adam was the opposite of the type of person Tommy was attracted to. It just didn’t make any _sense_.

Tommy rolled over to face the wall and thought about how, if he was honest, even his personality was unlike any of the women Tommy had been with. The girls Tommy tended to date were sweet, sure, but they were pretty self-centered and shallow. Adam, however, was one of the best people anybody could meet, in Tommy’s opinion. Half of the reason Tommy had connected with Adam when they had first met over two years ago was that Adam was unlike anybody else. He was strong, and he was driven, like plenty of people Tommy knew, but he was also kind, and loving, and one of the most earnest, selfless, _giving_ people Tommy had met. He had his goals in life and he had worked his ass off to reach each and every one of them, but he approached them from the angle of working hard and sacrificing, not using the average person’s standard approach of backstabbing and screwing over whoever was in his way.

Tommy had experienced countless times the depths to which Adam would go to help the people he cared about. His heart was the biggest part of him. Adam loved unconditionally, he gave as much support as he could, and he expressed more gratitude than anybody Tommy had ever met. Adam gave all of himself and never expected anything in return. Sometimes he even seemed surprised when people returned his generosity. He trusted and loved every friend he ever had to the point he’d give the shirt off his back to any one of them. Tommy had always considered Adam one of the most amazing people in the world, but despite everything about him, he was still confused by the idea of feeling more than friendship for Adam. Even beyond being the wrong gender, he had been friends with him for so long it didn’t compute that the feelings would change.

Except maybe for the fact that there was no denying the way that only recently had Adam’s smile made him feel warm inside. It had only been in the past few months that he noticed how beautiful Adam’s eyes looked when he wasn’t wearing makeup and the sunlight on his blonde eyelashes made them glow. He couldn’t deny that he knew exactly how many freckles were on Adam’s bottom lip after he’d counted them once while watching Adam sleep since he wasn’t able to get there himself. The small, affectionate kisses they had started sharing since they married made his lips tingle in the best way sometimes and, try as he might, there was no denying he loved the feeling. He liked the way it felt to wake up in the middle of the night with a large, warm hand splayed out on his stomach and the warm, heavy weight of Adam curled along his back. It was like he was something important, even if he knew all along that it was just how Adam slept. 

Tommy looked down at his ring and wondered what it had to have meant from the beginning that he’d simply gone along with being married to Adam even though he wasn’t even gay, thinking only of Adam’s happiness and Adam’s image when he’d made such a serious decision.

It made him wonder if there hadn’t been something more there all along, slowly building until he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Tommy sighed and rolled to the side to get up, only to have his eyes fly open when he realized he could _identify_ whose pillow it was just by the fact that he recognized Adam’s scent on the pillowcase.

“Oh my God, this is more serious than I thought!” Tommy whined at the prospect of facing one of the greatest personal crises he’d ever faced.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The situation was made worse by the fact that he couldn’t exactly take some time to figure himself out because he had to keep up the image of devoted, loving husband. If anybody saw them behaving awkward with each other, there would be more abuse rumors or cheating scandals.

Only days after the realization that he might be falling for Adam, Tommy was sitting in one of the dressing rooms backstage at their venue, sitting down for a web interview via Skype with an interviewer back in America in response to the abuse allegations and cheating rumors. The session was just connecting when Adam rushed in, looking apologetic.

“Sorry, Neil had me distracted,” he said, then shrugged off his jacket, sitting beside Tommy while Lane glared at them from behind the computer on the table. When the connection was made, the interviewer smiled.

“Hi guys, before we start the live stream I just wanted to really thank you guys for doing this. Normally we would wait for a face to face interview in the studio, but with all the news focus on you guys being now, mid tour, we couldn’t wait,” she said, fixing her hair one last time.

“That’s fine, we’re glad to do it,” Adam said. “Maybe we can help straighten up some rumors once and for all,” he said, settling his arm around Tommy’s shoulders comfortably while Tommy absently rested his hand on Adam’s leg. It was something Tommy was so used to doing and feeling no unease until he had noticed that he was putting his _hand_ on his best friend’s thigh without a second thought.

“Alright, we’re going live now. I’ll greet you guys and then we’ll be started,” she said and Tommy and Adam nodded, sharing a look before they got ready to go. She suddenly smiled widely and took a breath. “Thanks for joining our live interview via web chat with singer Adam Lambert and his husband, Tommy Ratliff, everybody,” she said and Tommy saw the image of him and Adam pop up in the left hand corner really small to show that they were on as well. “Hi guys!”

“Hey,” Adam said brightly and Tommy raised his fingers in a little wiggle wave. “Thanks for having us.”

“So, how are you guys today, to start with?” she asked.

“We’re doing really well, thank you,” Adam said, smile in place. “Getting ready for tonight’s show,” he offered.

“That’s awesome,” she said, then smiled. “Well, we’re not going to take up much of your time, but of course, there are rumors swirling that I’m pretty sure you guys want to put to bed,” she said and Tommy nodded. “First off, what are the rumors being spread about?”

Tommy cleared his throat. “The first one was started by some photos of me with a massive bruise on my face,” he explained. “Somehow, a bruise across my left cheek had to mean that it was spousal abuse.”

“And then,” Adam added. “Not but a week later there was a picture of me talking to an ex-boyfriend and _obviously_ those together mean I beat my husband and cheat on him,” he said, rolling his eyes.

She nodded. “Alright, let’s tackle the less dramatic one. What was up with the ex-boyfriend?” she asked. 

“I was right there!” Tommy said, rolling his eyes. “They even framed that shot to crop me out of it! You can see a leather jacket sleeve in that photo and that was me,” he said pointedly. “Adam was talking with his ex-boyfriend with me sitting on the other side. It was his birthday and he’d invited him out with us all. Another one of his ex-boyfriends was there too because I invited him,” he pointed out.

Adam nodded. “I try and stay friends with people and even if it’s ex-boyfriends, I’m lucky enough that most of the time we at least remain friendly towards each other. Most of them are friends with Tommy too,” he said, and Tommy nodded.

She looked amused. “And you don’t feel threatened having your husband’s ex-boyfriends around?” she asked.

Tommy smiled at Adam. “He married me,” he said simply, then turned back to the camera. “They’re _ex_ boyfriends for a reason. I’m his husband for a reason. Adam is a very honest person and if he’d wanted one of them more than me, he’d have never married me. Adam doesn’t lie or sugar coat things. If he didn’t want me, as much as it would suck for both of us, he’d tell me,” he stressed. “If Adam were to ever stop loving me, he wouldn’t string me along, he’d tell me and he hasn’t,” he said, earning an adoring smile from Adam.

“I couldn’t ever stop loving you, TommyJoe,” he said in a small voice, kissing his temple sweetly.

“Awwwww,” the interviewer said, smiling. “That was sweet,” she admitted, then bit her lip. “And I think I know what you’re going to say, but for the record, did Adam hit you?” she asked Tommy.

“No,” he said firmly. “I want to find and smack whoever first decided it would be funny to say Adam hurt me,” he said viciously. “Adam is one of the least violent people I’ve ever met. Hell, I’ve seen him handle situations that I’d definitely resort to violence for without even saying anything mean.”

Adam smiled sadly. “Very little can really upset me anymore. As a thirty year old gay man, I’ve dealt with more hatred and more shit said and done to me in my lifetime than most people ever will,” he started, then shook his head. “But _nothing_ has ever upset me more than being accused of hurting the man I love,” he said honestly. “I detest people who hurt anybody, but it’s just sick to hurt someone who trusts and loves you and to be accused of it hurts a lot.”

She nodded. “I’d expect so,” she said. She paused and Tommy knew it was coming. Adam must have as well because he squeezed Tommy’s shoulder lightly and leaned into him some more. “If Adam didn’t hit you, what happened to your face?” she asked.

Tommy snorted. “At this point, I’m happier to tell the truth than deal with the alternative of people thinking Adam’s an abusive bastard,” he said and Adam looked surprised. “I got in a fight,” he said honestly. “We were keeping it quiet because they could press charges, but honestly I’d rather face that than have people suspect Adam of hurting me.”

“Tommy-“ Adam started but Tommy cut him off.

“We were at a bar at the start of the real tour part of tour,” he started. “I was at the bar ordering drinks while the others were sitting at a table. Adam wasn’t there yet, but he was on his way. I noticed the guys at the bar were Americans too and then didn’t really listen to them. But when I heard Adam’s name I started listening and they were just-“ he shook his head. “They were making homophobic remarks about him and then they spotted the other guys from the band all wearing makeup in the corner and started talking shit about them. I asked them to stop,” he pointed out. “I just asked them to keep their opinions to themselves, but they turned on me instead. They started making horrible jokes and saying terrible things about me and about my friends.” He clenched his jaw. “When Adam walked in, they started saying _terrible_ things about him and I told them ‘that’s my husband, shut up’ and they just-“ He looked down at his clenched fist on Adam’s lap, feeling the anger again. “They didn’t,” he said simply. “I overreacted, I know that now, but I hit one of them and they both attacked me.”

Adam caught his hand and held it, gently worming his fingers into Tommy’s clenched fist to make him release the tense muscles before he hurt himself. “I had to take Tommy to the hospital because his back was hurt and he’d been kicked in the face and his mouth was bleeding really badly,” he said softly, caressing the back of Tommy’s hand with his thumb as he saw how tense Tommy looked. 

She looked surprised. “So, it was the exact opposite of the rumors,” she said. “Instead of being abused by your husband, you got hurt defending him,” she said and Tommy smiled slyly.

“Yeah, but really I couldn’t help it,” he said and Adam rolled his eyes. “The one thing you never do is say terrible things about the person a man loves. Especially one who grew up little and had to learn to fight,” he said and Adam groaned.

“Oh you lame ass,” he said, then smiled down at him. “Lame.”

“You like it,” Tommy teased, then blushed when he remembered they were live. “But yeah,” he cleared his throat. “Now you can see how much people blaming Adam upset me.”

She just smiled. “I’d imagine so.” She looked up off screen somewhere. “Well, we’re out of time. I’d like to thank Adam Lambert and Tommy Ratliff for taking the time to give us an exclusive first interview.”

Lane shut off the feed once they were off screen. “That was good,” she said pointedly.

Adam smiled, playing with the end of Tommy’s hair. “I thought you weren’t a good actor?” he teased and Tommy raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not,” he said, trailing off. Adam just looked at him studiously, looking into his eyes. Tommy watched a slightly confused look come into Adam’s eyes. “What?” he asked, frowning.

Adam just shook his head, looking at him vacantly. “Nothing,” he said, then leaned in to kiss Tommy’s hair before withdrawing, standing up from the couch. “Alright, we’ve got to get dressed,” he instructed and Tommy nodded, standing. As he walked out, he glanced back and saw Adam looking off into space vacantly, clearly deep in thought. Tommy cringed, hoping Adam wasn’t seeing more than he wanted him to when he looked at him.


	15. Chapter 15

Tommy volunteered to pick him up from the airport as soon as Adam told him Sutan was joining the tour. “Yes!” Tommy cheered, wiggling happily. “My other life-partner!” he said and Monte chuckled.

“Bigamy’s the game, huh?” he teased and Adam rolled his eyes at Tommy’s wiggly eyebrows.

“Should I be jealous?” he teased, nudging Tommy, who grinned up at him, lying back across Adam’s lap.

“Hell yes!” he said, stretching. “Sutan and I only control ourselves around each other because, despite his best attempts, I still don’t like dick,” he said, sighing dramatically. “It’s tragic, our epic love story cannot be due to the unfortunate fact that we’re both boys and I like girls.”

Adam snorted. “Says the one with a husband,” he teased and Tommy grinned.

“Oh I love you, no doubt,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows comically. “Just ain’t got the right bits and pieces.”

Adam grinned. “I love you, TommyJoe. Nobody else is as ridiculous,” he said, leaning in to bite his cheek playfully.

“Cannibal!” Tommy cried, then reached for Monte. “Save meeee!”

“He doesn’t have time to save you, Glitterbaby,” Adam said, slapping Tommy’s thigh lightly. “You and Lane are going to pick up Sutan in an hour. You should go get dressed,” he instructed.

Tommy giggled. “ANYTHING! Just don’t eat me,” he pleaded playfully, rolling onto the floor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sutan ran to hug Tommy when he spotted him. “Oh my God, I didn’t think you would pick me up!” he said, only to whine when Tommy pulled away. “What the fuck?” he asked, pouting. “I was still hugging!”

Tommy cringed. “Yeah, but if I get caught hugging you next it’ll be all over that you’re my avenue of payback for Adam beating me and cheating on me,” he said and Sutan made a noise of disgust, rolling his eyes.

“Fuckers,” he said, then waved at Lane, who was rolling her eyes. “Hey bitch!”

“Hey back, bitch,” she said, then nodded. “Let’s go before someone sees Tommy,” she said.

“Lucky for you, you’ve come on a bus night,” Tommy said, snickering. “I love watching you fold that tall body into a tiny bunk.”

Sutan poked his tongue out. “I’ll fold my tall ass body in with you if you keep it up,” he threatened and Tommy chuckled.

“You’d never fit with us, man. It’s a miracle I’m not squished in the night every night we’re on the bus because our bed’s barely big enough for Adam alone. Putting us both in is tough work,” he joked. Sutan raised an eyebrow, shooting him a curious look. “What?” he asked.

Sutan eyed him. “You and Adam share a bed on the tour bus?” he asked suspiciously.

Tommy just nodded, looking confused. “Yeah… we haven’t really slept apart but the first few nights on the bus since we got married,” he said. “We started out him in the bed and I had a bunk, but Adam was having trouble sleeping because he’d gotten used to somebody else being beside him, so I just started sleeping with him. It’s not a problem and I usually don’t sleep much anyways so being unable to get up and go do stuff has helped me sleep more whether I like it or not.”

Sutan snorted. “Well aren’t you two all domestic,” he said and Lane snickered.

Tommy raised an eyebrow at her. “And what was that?” he asked and she rolled her eyes.

“You two are ridiculous sometimes,” he said and he frowned. “You guys are very convincing,” she added. “You do everything together, you do everything _for_ each other, and you guys have mastered the ‘touchy-feely’ thing,” she pointed out.

Sutan smiled. “Aww, do they sit around cuddling all the time?” he asked, then slid his arm around Tommy’s shoulders. “I wanna see!”

Tommy shrugged. “We’re just… comfortable.” He looked at Lane. “And you’re the one who told us we weren’t giving you enough PDA!” he accused.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I never told you to start holding hands when there’s nobody around to see you, or sleeping curled up in his lap when you guys are all watching TV, or getting jealous of other guys hitting on him-“

“I totally haven’t done that!” he said in his defense. “Nobody’s hit on him around me,” he said and she snorted.

“You _would_ though, is my point.” She looked at him. “You guys act like you’re really married. I mean, you did what I wanted, you’ve convinced anybody with eyeballs that you’re a happily married couple, but you two have really started _living_ it.”

Sutan hummed. “I wanna see this,” he said, clearly unconvinced. “I mean, I know you both pretty well and I’m pretty sure you can’t be that good of an actor. I’ve seen you try and tell a lie,” he pointed out.

Tommy just shrugged. “I’m not a good actor, I don’t know what’s got the others convinced when I’m clearly not a good actor. I think they’re just being convinced by Adam’s great acting skills.”

Sutan smiled. “I’m the best at telling lies. I’ll spot your tells,” he said confidently.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam jumped up when Sutan came in. “AH!” he cried, rushing to hug him. “Holy shit, you bitch, I think you got prettier,” he said with a playful pout.

“Hey baby,” Sutan said, hugging him tight. “And no, that’s your husband. Lucky little whore,” he said, grinning at Tommy.

“Oh yeah, the little shit gets prettier every day, I’m positive,” Adam said, then walked over to sit down beside Tommy, who had take up residence in Adam’s spot on the couch. “Who said you could sit there?” he challenged playfully.

Tommy grinned. “I did, bitch,” he teased and Adam snorted then shoved Tommy off the couch, wiggling happily until he was right back where he’d started. Tommy squawked indignantly as he stood up. “Dude!” he said in surprise.

Adam just smiled sweetly, then grabbed Tommy’s hips, guiding him to the side. “You’re in my way of the TV,” he said and Tommy snorted, sitting down right in Adam’s lap. “Ow! Boney ass to my balls,” Adam whined, shoving Tommy until he was sideways across his lap. “Bitch.”

Tommy just snorted. “You _like_ it,” he teased, looping his arm around Adam’s shoulders to keep himself balanced.

Adam curled his fingers around Tommy’s hip to hold him in place. “No, your ass against my dick is pretty sweet. The groping and grinding I get on stage is the most action I’ve got in a while and the most I’m getting for a while. Your boney ass smashing my poor, defenseless balls is far from nice,” he teased, kissing Tommy’s cheek with a playful smack.

Tommy just snorted and settled back against Adam’s shoulder. “Whatever, you’ll live,” he said, then looked at the TV. “What’s on?” he asked.

Adam curled his fingers around Tommy’s knee absently. “Taylor put in Interview With A Vampire then walked out so it’s paused until he comes back but he should be back soon,” he said.

Tommy snorted and turned to Sutan. “Yeah, Taylor’s going through his vampire phase,” he explained.

Adam nodded. “He tried to convince me I needed to work vampires into the show somehow,” he said, shaking his head. “Tommy’s down with it because he wants a reason for Brooke to be a sexy vampire and bite him,” he said and Tommy snickered.

“Can you blame me? Do you have any clue how long it’s been since a hot woman’s been anywhere near my neck?” he asked before laying his head back against Adam’s shoulder. “You know, I haven’t thought about it, but we should totally fake bite marks on you,” he said, poking the side of Adam’s throat.

Adam dodged away. “What?” he asked in confusion.

Tommy grinned, lifting his head. “Anybody who knows me well has probably wondered how the hell you’ve been covering up the bites and hickeys,” he said and Adam raised an eyebrow.

“Biter, huh?” he said, then snickered. “I can see that,” he teased. “Well, maybe they’ll believe I don’t like to be bitten?” he suggested. “I mean, I don’t, actually,” he pointed out.

“What about slowly formed hickeys?” Tommy asked. “I mean, sometimes it’s not always on purpose that I leave a mark,” he pointed out. “I dated this one girl who didn’t like to be bitten but I still always managed to suck bruises on her skin because of how pale she was,” he said.

Sutan snorted. “I could give him a fake hickey if you want to test it out,” he offered.

Adam smirked, clearly looking amused. “Let’s do it,” he said, smiling at Tommy, who grinned back. “Maybe it’ll help the ‘not cheating or beating’ thing if they see your marks on me,” he said.

Tommy grinned. “Of course, cause you gotta put some time and effort into sucking a bruise on someone’s throat. If you were mistreating me, why the hell would I be _that_ into the sex?” he suggested.

“Unless you hate him but really like his dick,” Sutan said and Tommy laughed.

“Whatever, it was just a suggestion. I’m not saying it’ll make people suspect stuff that Adam doesn’t have hickeys,” he said, sliding his fingers through Adam’s hair absently.

Adam looked up at him and shrugged. “We can try it out. Sutan’s good with covering marks so I’m sure he can create them.” He leaned his head back and looked past Tommy. “You wanna try?” he asked.

Sutan grinned. “Hell yeah,” he said, then smirked at Tommy. “Hey hot stuff, wanna go get naked together and give me some examples to work with?” he teased and Tommy laughed.

“Oh yeah, dude, I’ll be right there,” he said rolling his eyes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sutan was putting some rhinestones on Adam’s face when Tommy walked in, clearly looking for something. “You need something, TommyJoe?” Sutan asked, looking over. He turned back and raised an eyebrow when Adam rolled his eyes.

“Your creepers are in my bag,” he said and Tommy glanced up.

“Oh, thanks Adam,” he said, going over to Adam’s bag to dig out his shoes.

Sutan raised an eyebrow. “How the hell did you know what he was looking for?” he asked.

Adam smiled in amusement. “Tommy loses his shoes all the damn time. He’s bad at kicking them off wherever and forgetting where they were. I generally take them if I find them and put them in my bag so he doesn’t leave them somewhere.”

Sutan hummed in amusement. “Lane wasn’t lying about you guys being domestic,” he said and Adam shrugged.

“I guess we’ve gotten used to each other but it’s really just expected,” he said honestly. “Once we learned to deal with each other at home it was time to go on tour and from nearly the very start it’s been bad shit after bad shit and we’re relying on each other so much it’s sort of impossible not pick up on what we can do to help each other out, you know?” he explained. “It’s weird,” he admitted. “I mean, unlike Tommy, I’ve actually been in a real ‘long term’ committed, ‘partner’ type relationship before and it was similar, but still nothing like this,” he pointed out. “I mean, it’s not just the fact we’re not in love and sleeping together and all of that, but it’s like… even then there was still this element of separation that there isn’t with Tommy and me,” he explained with a hand gesture. “Like… it was still a matter of living with somebody but with this thing we’ve got going, I don’t know of it’s how much stress we’re under as we try and convince people our marriage is real or if it’s all the pressure of relying on each other for comfort through all these claims against us, but with me and Tommy, it’s like a real partnership. We work together on most things and it’s really weird for me to be living essentially just like a married couple with one of my best friends.”

Sutan hummed. “Does it get awkward? I mean, the whole ‘married to a straight boy’ thing?” he asked.

Adam shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think so. I mean, obviously the lack of actual romantic relationship is a definite factor, but honestly it’s almost like, if I’m honest, the only difference in what we’re doing and what I would expect from a real, successful marriage is that part exactly.” He smiled. “I kind of like it. I get to do everything with my best friend every day and I never have to worry about having to go our separate ways either at the end of the day or at the end of tour or whatever. It’s really nice to spend all day doing what I love with somebody and then end the day curled up watching TV together or something. And so far, I don’t think it’s hurt our friendship at all.”

Sutan just hummed. “It seems to have made it better,” he suggested.

Adam smiled happily. “Definitely. I mean, he was already basically my best friend, but in the few months we’ve been married it’s like… he’s my _best_ friend. We do everything together and like… I don’t know, even stuff that used to annoy me about Tommy has gotten easier to deal with because I’ve started to realize why he does certain things. Like, even if I think it’s all stupid still, I understand his ridiculous side because I’ve picked up on his habits and I’m starting to work out how his brain works. I’m nowhere near KNOWING how his brain works, that’s a fucking mystery, but little things are starting to make sense. It’s really amazing.”

Sutan just watched Adam’s eyes as he finished up with the rhinestones. “You have realized you’re not fooling me, right?” he said, trying to make it sound like an offhanded remark.

Adam froze, face going slack. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in a flat voice, looking away from Sutan’s eyes.

Sutan just shook his head, clucking his tongue. “I’d heard that you two were acting too well for TommyJoe’s abilities. I thought maybe it was just them seeing you two being all sweet and cuddly and imagining, but in the barely over a month you’ve been on tour, something’s changed between you guys and I saw it pretty damn fast,” he said softly. “I don’t know what did it, maybe it’s all the stress on you guys, but you look at him in a way I haven’t seen you look at anybody in a long time, Adam.”

Adam’s jaw clenched. “Let it go, Sutan.”

“Adam, he’s straight. And he’s playing along with this marriage-“

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Adam snapped, looking up at Sutan fiercely. “Nothing. Has. Changed!” he hissed. “He’s-“ Adam just shook his head and stood up, pushing past Sutan. “He’s my best friend. That’s all. That’s all I want him to be,” he insisted.

Sutan sighed. “What you want doesn’t matter to your heart, Adam. It’s okay if you’re in-“

“I’m not!” he said with a slightly angry snap.

Sutan put his hands on his hips. “I’m not blind, asshole. I doubt anybody else notices. At least anybody who isn’t supposed to. You’re a great actor and you’re _supposed_ to be in love with your husband-“

“I’m not,” Adam stressed firmly.

Sutan just gave him a sad smile. “It must be so hard for you. I’m so sorry this all-“

Adam just glared. “Nothing is hard for me. You have no reason to be sorry.” He made an abortive motion and then just turned to grab his jacket. “Nothing is going on. Tommy’s my best friend and that’s all. It is,” he denied, walking out without another word.


	16. Chapter 16

Adam was sitting patiently in the cab on the way to the club where they were meeting the others when his phone vibrated. It was just him and Tommy riding with Sutan to the club with the others in other cars. He pulled it out and frowned when he saw it was from Tommy, who was sitting right beside him. He opened it and read curiously.

_Since he got here, Sutan’s been asking me all sorts of questions and before we got in the car, he made a big deal out of me wearing the lipstick you like. What is up with him? He keeps shooting looks at us back here- TJR <3AML_

Adam felt uneasy, only to smile when he saw the text signature Tommy had.

_He’s been saying weird things to me ever since he got here. Just ignore him. When did you change your text signature?- Adam_

Tommy giggled from his side as he read the message so Adam looked at him curiously. Tommy looked up and blew him a kiss, making Adam roll his eyes. “About a week ago,” he said and Adam smiled. “I just wanted something new.”

“What are you two talking about?” Sutan asked with a frown.

Tommy smiled. “I sent Adam a picture off my phone and he was asking about my text signature,” he covered and Adam smiled, sliding his hand into Tommy’s.

Sutan smiled. “Wait, the cute little Tommy hearts Adam one?” he asked and Tommy nodded.

“Yeah, our initials,” he said.

“I noticed that, it’s cute,” he mentioned, shooting Adam a pointed look that Adam didn’t understand.

Tommy just eyed him curiously, watching their wordless conversation. “Am I missing something?” he asked suspiciously.

“Nothing important, Tommy,” Adam said and Sutan perked up.

“Actually-“

“Sutan!” Adam snapped, glaring.

Sutan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine, yeah, nothing important, blah blah,” he said, looking away. Adam rolled his eyes and sighed but Tommy looked curious. Adam just shook his head and slid his fingers into Tommy’s, resting their hands on Tommy’s lap for the rest of the ride.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy had the idea that he was going to match Adam drink for drink. It quickly became clear, however, that he wasn’t going to make it. Adam laughed when Tommy drained the rest of his drink and made a face. “Alright, fuck that, I’m switching to water,” he slurred slightly. “I can’t feel my tongue,” he said, then shot Adam an incredulous look. “Where’s it go?”

Adam snickered, only a little buzzed himself. “I’m a lot bigger than you,” he said, kissing his cheek. “Besides, you usually stick to beer, I’m a liquor kinda boy.”

Tommy gave him a wide smile and giggled. “I don’t think you’ve been licking many hers,” he slurred and Adam laughed, curling his arm around Tommy.

“Oh my God, Glitterbaby, I love you,” he said, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s cheek. “That was good,” he admitted and Tommy grinned.

“I know I am,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows before shoving at him. “Alright, ‘m going dancing,” he said and Adam laughed when Tommy climbed up from his chair and looked around. “Where’d they go?” he asked looking adorably confused.

Adam smiled. “All the good dancers besides me are out dancing if that’s who you mean,” he said and Tommy nodded.

“Sweet, I’m gonna go dance with someone pretty,” he said, then blew Adam a kiss as he disappeared.

“You know he’s totally got it bad for you, right?” Isaac said from his side and Adam jumped, looking over at him. “Tommy,” he pointed out.

“What do you mean?” Adam asked in confusion. “Got what bad?”

Isaac snorted. “Adam, the dude has been looking at you like you were a fucking juicy steak all night long. It’s been cute until now but it’s getting disturbing.”

Cam nodded, smiling. “TommyJoe totally hasn’t realize it, but the poor guy didn’t even look at my tits when my shirt slipped this afternoon,” she said and Adam frowned.

“Why did your shirt slip and your boobs show?” he asked and she waved a hand.

“My bra showed and that’s not the point, Tommy used to joke around and yell ‘woooo boobs!’ or something whenever there was a cleavage flash and my point is Tommy was busy smiling and looking at _you_. We’ve had a betting pool on when he’ll realize he’s into you for about a month now but it’s just not happening,” she said.

Adam just rolled his eyes. “Tommy is straight, the only reason he was smiling and looking at me is to keep up appearances-“

Isaac chuckled. “We were backstage, dude,” he said and Adam blinked.

“Huh...” he frowned, suddenly feeling a strange wiggling feeling in his stomach. “That’s… new,” he said awkwardly. He opened his mouth to say something, only to catch a flash of blonde out of the corner of his eye. There were plenty of blondes so he didn’t know what made him look up, but when he did, he felt his jaw drop.

A big, broad, tall, muscular guy had Tommy held against him, one hand on his ass and the other in his hair, kissing him. Adam felt annoyance flare at the _nerve_ of Tommy after they already had cheating allegations to face, only to feel his annoyance turn to cold anger as he saw Tommy turn his head and snatch away, clearly not at all happy about the hands on him. Adam watched as Tommy pulled away and turned away to leave, only to feel his anger turn to _rage_ when the man grabbed Tommy around the arm and snatched him back to him, pinning Tommy’s tiny body against his own, reaching down to grab his ass and tug Tommy’s hips forward. “What. The. Fuck,” Adam spat, feeling blind rage overtaking him as he stood up, shoving his chair back.

“Adam?”

“ADAM!” Cam shouted but he stalked angrily down the steps and across the dance floor.

Adam walked up just as the guy snatched Tommy against his body and kissed him hard, pressing his hips forward, rubbing himself against Tommy. “Get your hands off of my husband,” Adam snarled, gently grabbing Tommy’s arm as he snatched the man’s hands off of Tommy, pulling him into his side.

Tommy looked up, eyes wide. “Adam, he just grabbed me-“

“I know, I saw it,” Adam reassured, then turned to the guy, who had a few inches on him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he demanded, feeling anger pouring off him in waves as Tommy ducked under his arm and slightly behind him, arms going around his middle. He was clearly shaken. “You don’t just grab people and put your hands all over them if they don’t want you touching them, you bastard,” Adam snapped.

The guy scoffed. “The bitch was asking for it-“

“My husband is nobody’s bitch and you better not _ever_ think about putting your sleazy hands on _anybody_ who tries to push you away, you sick bastard,” he cried angrily. “Now get the _fuck_ away from him, you worthless piece of shit!” 

Tommy’s eyes widened as the music went down just as Adam’s projecting voice rang out ‘worthless piece of shit’ across the club. Tons of people turned to look and he ducked, knowing he had to look pretty disheveled after being touched and kissed and dragged around all over by that guy. The guy looked angry but Adam just curled his arm around Tommy’s waist and guided him back through the crowd to the table.

When they got there, several others had come back over and they were all talking. “What the fuck was that?!” Sutan asked, looking at them both. “I thought you were about to _hit_ that guy!”

Adam glowered at him but turned instead to Tommy. “You okay?” he asked, looking down at him.

Tommy nodded but pressed himself against Adam’s chest, arms around his middle. “Can we go back to the hotel?” he asked softly and Adam nodded, keeping his arm around Tommy’s waist comfortingly.

“Monte, can you hand me our jackets?” he asked and Monte grabbed them off their chairs, offering them across the table.

“What happened?” Sasha asked and Tommy looked up, looking a little dazed and frightened still.

“This big dude just- he grabbed me and started kissing me and touching me and he was too big for me to get away from and he just wouldn’t let me go and I couldn’t make him stop,” he said, cringing. “That was fucked up.”

Adam handed Tommy his jacket and slid his on. “We’re going back to the hotel,” he said, sliding his hand into Tommy’s. Tommy waved at them all, still a little dazed as he curled his fingers around Adam’s hand, sticking close to him as he guided him out of the club.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When they got to the hotel, Tommy was quiet. Adam held his hand as they walked through the lobby, feeling his hand still shaking. When they got in the elevator, he looked at Tommy closely. “Are you okay?”

Tommy just shook a bit harder, shrugging. “Fine.”

Adam sighed and wrapped Tommy up in a hug, holding him close. “You don’t look it,” he said and Tommy clung to him, pressing his face into Adam’s shirt, trembling in his arms. Adam curled his fingers in Tommy’s hair, pressing his lips to the side of his head. “Calm down, TommyJoe. You’re okay.”

Tommy didn’t speak for the whole ride but he didn’t pull away either. When they got down the hall and into their room, he threw himself at Adam again, tucking into his hold much to Adam’s surprise. He rarely ever saw Tommy being anything but cool and calm. Adam sighed. “Are you sure you’re okay, baby?” he asked, worry creeping into the edges of his voice.

Tommy sighed, backing off slowly. “Yeah,” he said, then shrugged off his jacket. He tossed it and kicked off his shoes, curling his arms around his small torso. “I just… I’m not used to that,” he said.

“Well nobody should have to get used to assholes being too drunk-“ Adam was cut off when Tommy shook his head.

“No, feeling helpless,” he said and Adam cringed, suddenly realizing the real problem. “I mean… that was… _horrible_ ,” he said, looking up with fearful eyes. “I’ve never been in a situation where I felt- I felt weak and tiny. And I mean, sure he was groping me and kissing me, not kicking my ass, but he was _strong_ ,” he stressed, wide eyed. “I’m never that weak against someone. I was just dancing and that guy grabbed me and started touching me and kissing me and it was basically terrifying because I can’t ever remember anybody holding me somewhere and being unable to get away.”

Adam snorted. “That was a big guy, Tommy. I’d have been absolutely convinced you were on some really fucked up drugs if you had been able to get him off of you,” he said, walking over to place his jacket with his bag. He started taking off his jewelry and sighed. “I’ve seen people grab you and stuff but that was the first time I think I’ve ever seen you look honestly scared,” he said, putting his earrings in his jewelry case.

“I was terrified.” Adam froze when he heard how tiny Tommy’s voice was. He turned around and gaped when he saw Tommy staring at the floor, shaking visibly. “And it was gross. And he grabbed me _everywhere_. I felt so _helpless_ and disgusting.”

Adam walked over, shushing Tommy as he pulled him into his arms again, holding him. “Hey, you’re Tommy Joe Ratliff. You are far from helpless,” he said, smiling down at him comfortingly. “You’re my Glitterbaby and you can do anything. It’s just one guy who was a massive pervert,” he said. “I doubt I’d be really happy if a girl randomly grabbed me on the ass and mouth-raped me either.”

Tommy groaned, pressing his face into Adam’s chest. “It wasn’t that it was a dude. It never bothers me when you touch me and kiss me. I _like_ it. Hell, I don’t even mind when Isaac gets drunk and tries to make out with me. And did I ever tell you about the thing at your birthday when we were out dancing where I totally got to dirty dancing with Brad,” he said, looking up.

Adam snorted. “Someone seems a little drunk still,” he teased, poking Tommy’s nose.

Tommy shook his head. “It was just the whole ‘tiny and helpless’ part I hated.” He groaned, fisting his hands in the back of Adam’s shirt. “I hate being so little.”

Adam tutted, pulling away to look down at him, hand on his face. “Don’t say that. I love how small you are,” he said.

“Oh yeah,” Tommy said with a disbelieving look. “You don’t have to live with it.”

Adam smiled. “If you weren’t little I couldn’t hold you like this,” he said, curling his arms around him. “You wouldn’t fit in my arms so perfectly,” he pointed out, leaning down to press their noses together. “You’re the perfect size to kiss and to hold and to protect,” he informed him. “I can keep you right here and nothing can happen to you. If you weren’t little it wouldn’t work too well.” He kissed Tommy’s forehead. “And if you weren’t little, imagine trying to fit in our bunk on the bus together,” he teased and Tommy laughed softly, rolling his eyes.  
“Very true,” he admitted, then tilted his head back, looking up at Adam’s face. “I’m okay,” he reassured and Adam sighed.

“God I hope so. I can’t handle going and getting myself killed like I’d end up doing if that bastard permanently damaged you. I can’t have that shit going un-avenged,” he teased and Tommy laughed, smiling up at him. He stood on his toes and pecked Adam’s lips.

“I’m going to get ready for bed. I’m exhausted and, yes, I little tipsy still,” he admitted, tugging away. Adam was reluctant to let him go but nodded, going to get changed for bed as well.

When they were both in bed, Tommy rolled on his side, facing Adam. “You know, you should’ve seen yourself,” he said and Adam hummed, turning to face him. 

“When?” he asked in confusion.

Tommy grinned. “When you got that guy off of me. I thought you were going to rip him apart,” he said, giggling softly. “Seriously, I’ve never seen you look angry like that. It would’ve probably been really hot if I wasn’t terrified and in the middle of being molested,” he joked.

Adam groaned. “I was sooo pissed. You looked so scared and he was grabbing your ass and rubbing on your hip and touching you and kissing you and that’s just not cool. You don’t force yourself on somebody like that. Especially not a boy that’s married to a decent sized man as well,” he said.

Tommy smiled, sliding his arm around Adam’s hips. “You weren’t even possessive and caveman about it, you were so gentle with me, making sure not to hurt me when you snatched me away, and then you were all badass and ‘back off my man, bitch!’ and it was seriously pretty impressive,” he said.

Adam rolled his eyes, making a face. “You’re my Glitterbaby. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a little bit insane when it comes to you,” he said honestly.

Tommy smiled, nodding. “I know. I like it. It’s pretty hot,” he joked and Adam laughed, tugging Tommy closer.

“You’re too much, TommyJoe,” Adam said, stroking his thumb along Tommy’s hipbone.

Tommy looked at him with a content smile before raising his hand to stroke along Adam’s cheekbone, almost like he was trying to brush away the freckles. “Thank you,” he said softly.

Adam just hummed, closing his eyes. “It was really nothing, baby.”

“I know,” Tommy said. He shifted and Adam opened his eyes, only to start when he saw how close Tommy was. Before he could react, however, Tommy was kissing him softly. He smiled against Tommy’s lips and returned Tommy’s kiss, sighing as Tommy kiss him slowly and sweetly, fingers brushing along his jaw as he tilted Adam’s face for the perfect angle. When Tommy pulled away, Adam opened his eyes. Tommy smiled slightly and pecked his lips again. “Thank you anyways.”

Adam just smiled and curled his arms around Tommy, holding him close. Tommy went with it, tucking his head under Adam’s chin, arms curled around Adam as Adam held him, holding him close and warm, like something precious and special. Tommy had never felt more comfortable or safe than when he was nestled within the confines of his husband’s warm embrace.

It felt like he was worth being protected.


	17. Chapter 17

They were leaving the hotel and driving all day and some of the night to the next city in the bus, so it was an early start for everybody. Adam and Tommy were the last ones to the bus (though if you asked Tommy, that was all Adam’s fault). Once they got there, everybody was hanging out, clearly waiting for them. 

“Sorry, sorry, we’re running late this morning,” Adam said as he rushed up the stairs, blinking when he saw everybody looking at him. “What?”

“Dude, what the fuck was that last night?” Monte asked and Tommy froze, dropping the shoe he was carrying, only to bend over and get it.

“You mean us leaving early?” he asked, standing up, still looking down at the shoe in his hands.

Isaac hummed. “Adam was mid conversation and he just stopped and got this ‘someone’s about to die’ look on his face before rushing off through the crowd and then you two come back all tense and leave!” 

Adam sighed, looking at Tommy. “Wanna tell them or wait until it inevitably gets out in the tabloids that Adam Lambert almost got in a fight?” he asked and Lane looked up.

“ALMOST WHAT?!” she cried shrilly.

Tommy chuckled at her expression. “Some guy was messing with me and Adam made him stop. This giant guy like… the size of about four of me was really drunk and he just grabbed me and started groping me and kissing me and wouldn’t let go and I kept trying to pull away and snatch my arms away from his hands but it didn’t work and I was starting to really panic because it was hurting me and he wouldn’t stop touching me and shit. I guess Adam saw cause he like… shoved the guy away from me and started yelling at him,” he said, then shrugged. “I’m not proud of the fact I was too fucking little to watch my own ass but I was so freaked out by feeling helpless for about the only time in my entire adult life that I just like… huddled behind Adam until Adam took me back to the hotel.”

“Oh my God!” Sutan said, jumping up to hug Tommy. “Holy crap, are you okay baby?” he asked, looking down at him. “Jesus Christ, that’s fucked up.”

Tommy chuckled. “I’m okay now but it really freaked me out.”

Adam snorted. “Freaked me out, too. I’m not a violent person but I honestly came close to full on punching that guy in the face,” he said, earning a pointed look from Sutan, which he ignored. “Alright, whatever I’ve got to get this crap put up,” he said, hefting his bag. “Want me to get yours baby?” he asked.

Tommy handed him his bag, smiling. “Thanks,” he said and Adam pressed a kiss to his hair as he walked past him, sliding a hand down his arm as he passed.

Tommy just smiled after him as he walked away before going to sit beside Taylor, smiling when Taylor snuggled into his side, arm going around his shoulders. It wasn’t long before Adam came out again and smiled. “Yo bitch, get off my husband,” he teased, earning laughs as he got Taylor to slide over so he could sit beside Tommy.

“No fair,” Sutan said, making faces. “Share the Tommy,” he said and Adam laughed, poking his tongue out at him.

“No, mine,” he said and Tommy giggled, leaning back against Adam’s shoulder, hand resting on his leg. Adam smiled down at Tommy, making a face. “See?” he teased, looking up at Sutan. “All mine.”

Tommy chuckled. “You’re insane, dude,” he said, then looked up at Adam, raising an eyebrow. “And has anybody told you it’s not cool to poke you tongue out at people past the age of three?” he asked mockingly.

Adam grinned “Oh yeah?” he teased, sticking his tongue out at him playfully.

Tommy snorted. “Do it again I’ll bite it,” he threatened then looked up at him. “Has anybody told you your tongue is the wrong color?” he asked and Adam raised an eyebrow.

“My tongue is the wrong color?” he said flatly.

“Yeah, it’s like… pale pink,” Tommy said, then stuck out his own. “Most people’s are pink pink, see?” he asked.

Adam frowned, poking out his tongue, frowning adorably as he tried to see it. “So wait, I have a pale tongue?” he asked in confusion.

Tommy nodded, giggling at how cute Adam looked trying to look at his own tongue. “Yeah, it’s kind of cute.”

Adam hummed. “I don’t like having a weird tongue,” he said decisively. “I should eat cherry suckers all the time or something.”

Tommy snorted, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said with a dramatic sigh. “I was just mentioning it. I doubt anybody cares what color your _tongue_ is,” he said pointedly.

Sutan snorted. “I bet plenty of people care a lot about Adam’s tongue,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Tommy snickered.

“Hey, he’s a married man, they forget about that,” he said, grinning up at Adam, who gave him a sweet smirk.

“Just cause they can’t have me doesn’t mean they don’t want me, Glitterbaby,” he said, stroking a hand through Tommy’s hair.

“Besides,” Lane said, looking over at them. “They can have you soon,” she explained and Adam looked up.

“Huh?”

She smiled. “It’s been almost six months,” she pointed out. “You guys agreed on a year, right? Nearly half-way in,” she said, watching them closely.

Tommy blinked, glancing at Adam, who looked just as startled. “Has it really been that long?” he asked in wonder.

Adam nodded. “We got married October eighteenth and it’s the start of April,” he said. He sighed. “God, it’s been two months since the cheating and beating scandal already,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Dude, that’s awesome, we’ve been married nearly six months!” he said in amazement.

Adam nodded. “And we haven’t killed each other yet,” he said, earning a laugh from everybody around them. 

Sutan just eyed them curiously, clearly noting that they were ignoring the part of it being halfway until time for them to divorce.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everybody continuously teased Tommy through every airport in Asia after the incident during Glam Nation. When they got to the hotel in Singapore, everybody kept making fun of him.

“Hey have you seen my jacket-“ Monte turned and faked a gasp. “Oh God Tommy!” he cried and Adam laughed, slinging an arm around Tommy’s waist.

“Aww, it’s okay, Glitterbaby,” he’s just teasing.

Tommy snorted. “You’re all dicks,” he said, then shrugged Adam off. “It’s too hot to be all on me,” he said apologetic. “Summer in Asia, huh?” he said, making a face.

Adam groaned. “Damn straight. And you skinny bitches don’t know half of it,” he said, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably. “Gotta say, Tommy, you might have to put up with me sleeping naked tonight,” he said and Tommy giggled.

“As long as I don’t wake up with a handful of dick, I’m good,” he joked, earning a laugh from everybody around them.

Sutan smirked, taking off his sunglasses. “I’d worry about waking up with that beast somewhere else,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Adam gaped. “Did you call my dick a beast?!” he asked, shoving him playfully. “Oh my God, I hate you,” he said, groaning.

Tommy just laughed. “Good job, Sutan,” he said, high-fiving him.

Adam just sighed. “Alright, I need a shower. I’ve sweat half my makeup off and it’s so icky feeling,” he said.

Tommy snorted. “Well that’s attractive,” he teased and Adam poked his hip.

“I’m not three pounds soaking wet and incapable of sweat, you shit,” he complained, then fluffed his hair. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me, Glitterbaby.”

Tommy smiled as he watched him walk off. Sutan nudged him and raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the smile, TommyJoe?” he asked and Tommy shrugged. “If I didn’t know better…” he started and Tommy shot him a look.

“Oh but you _do_ know better,” he said warningly, pulling away to go walking after Isaac, who was headed to the lounge.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everybody was just coming off stage after a great show. “That was _awesome_!” Taylor cried, jumping on Terrance, who laughed, dropping him. 

Isaac slung a sweaty arm around Tommy. “Man, I thought you two were gonna make every person in the audience come in their pants,” he said and Tommy laughed, shaking his head, only to giggle when Sasha made a show of wiping lipstick off his cheek.

“Dude, four seconds is a long damn time when Adam Lambert’s having his way with you, huh?” she teased. “Your lipstick is everywhere still. I saw him wipe at it but it’s mostly still everywhere.”

Tommy opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a squawk as hands caught his hips, tugging him from between Isaac and Sasha, spinning him around. “ADAM!” he cried fearfully, letting out an ‘oof’ when he stayed balanced due to the thud against Adam’s chest. “Dick,” he said, leaning back against the arms looped around his waist.

Adam leaned down to kiss him, earning catcalls and whistles all around them. “You were on _fire_ tonight, Glitterbaby!” he said, grinning down at Tommy.

Tommy laughed. “Yeah, I rock, huh?” he teased and Adam rolled his eyes, slapping Tommy on the butt before letting go with one arm, pulling Tommy along with the one still around his waist. “Just tug me around, then,” he complained, but slid his arm around Adam as well. “We’re totally going out, right?” he asked and Adam grinned.

“This place has some of the best night light around, are you kidding?” He asked, sighing. “God being on stage is like really good sex, only without the orgasm,” he said randomly as they walked into the dressing room.

Tommy burst out laughing and Sutan raised an eyebrow, having only heard the last part. “The fuck do you do on stage?” he teased and Tommy bit his lip.

“Trust me, I believe him,” he said, walking over to shrug off his sopping wet shirt. “The rest of you don’t have to feel his on stage semi against you,” he said and Adam snorted.

“I do not get sexually excited on stage-“

“Really?” Tommy said, turning around with a flat look. “Really, you wanna claim that? I’ve been feeling _details_ of your dick since we started this gig, dude.”

Monte snorted. “Thank God we hired you, Tommy. He’d have nothing to hump on stage,” he said in mock seriousness that made Tommy giggle.

“Eh, it’s probably why he decided to marry me. Figured in his whisky soaked brain that he have to make an honest boy out of someone he’s molesting all the time,” he said, winking at the offended look Adam gave him.

“That’s not even funny,” he said, kicking off his boots.

Tommy walked over, shrugging on a clean shirt. “You know it’s funny,” he said, leaning up on his toes to peck Adam’s cheek. “I’m going back to get showered and re-pretty if we’re going out in style. Are you gonna come back?” he asked.

Adam nodded. “Don’t take a long shower because I’ll need one when I’m back,” he said, squeezing Tommy’s hand as he turned to leave with some of the others who were going on back to the hotel.

“You guys!” Everybody froze when Lane ran in, holding up a paper. “Holy shit, sorry to interrupt, but Adam!” she said, stalking over to hand him the paper. “I just got this email from a lawyer in Canada,” she said as Adam read over it.

He read through the passage, heart feeling significantly heavier as he got closer to the bottom. “Oh,” he said simply.

“What’s up?” Tommy asked as he walked back over. He leaned against Adam’s side to read the paper, eyes widening as they scanned lower and lower down the page. He froze and then hummed. “Huh.”

Lane rolled her eyes. “That’s it? No excited ‘yes you saved our asses, Lane?’ or anything?” she demanded.

Adam just gave her a smile suddenly. “Thanks, Lane, you’re a doll,” he said, then handed the paper to Tommy as he turned to the mirror being him to wash his makeup off.

Tommy leaned against the makeup counter beside Adam as he read the email over again. He glanced over at Adam and couldn’t read his face. He looked down and inched his left hand the last few inches to link his pinky with Adam’s on the table, swallowing as he read it once more, eyes drawn to the bottom part.

_The bottom line is that if I can meet with Mr. Lambert and Mr. Ratliff before the mark of one year of marriage, I’m almost certain we can go ahead with the plan for annulment and have it all taken care of simple enough so that they can get on with their lives._

He let out a sigh of relief when Adam curled his finger around Tommy’s, holding on just as tightly as a pinky could. 

Sutan watched the two of them curiously, confused at the dark looks on both of their faces. He waited until Tommy finally walked away, folding the paper to put into his bag as he headed out. Sutan ran to catch up with him and walked alongside him. “What’s up, TommyJoe?” he asked curiously.

Tommy shrugged. “Nothing,” he said softly, glancing down at his hands as he zipped and unzipped his bag awkwardly. “We found a way to get our marriage annulled,” he said softly and Sutan frowned.

“Well that’s good, right? It’s about damn time-“ He stopped talking the same moment he stopped walking, eyes widening as he looked at Tommy in shock.

Tommy stopped and turned back. “Sutan, what’s wrong?” he asked, looking concerned. They were the only two in the hallway at the moment, so he didn’t know what had made Sutan stop.

Sutan just looked at him curiously, trying to still the excited part of him that had jumped at the possibility. “Tommy… you’re not happy,” he noted and Tommy blinked, eyes widening before he looked away quickly.

“What? Of course I am, I can like… get this behind me and stuff.” He laughed as best he could, though Sutan instantly could tell it was forced. “Finally get laid again,” he said and even Tommy had to know his attempt at a smile was shitty.

“You love him,” he said softly, shocked at the realization.

Tommy’s head snapped up and he shook his head. “I don’t.”

Sutan just shook his head. “Baby, this isn’t a bad thing-“

Tommy gave him a dark look. “I don’t love him,” he said angrily, turning to leave quickly.


	18. Chapter 18

Tommy was sitting with his guitar out when Adam got back. Adam raised an eyebrow, heading to the bathroom. “You are coming, right?” he asked and Tommy looked up.

“Yeah, I just had an idea and needed to get it down,” he said, and Adam smiled.

“Alright, you’ll have to play it for me sometime,” he said, disappearing in the shower. 

However, when he came out, Tommy was still just as into writing, a dark look on his face. Adam was just coming out, almost ready to go. Tommy was playing a slow, angry sounding tune that made Adam frown.

“Are you sure you’re okay baby?” he asked softly.

Tommy looked up, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he said, then put his guitar away, going to get his shoes. 

Adam caught his arm. “You don’t look good,” he said, looking at his face. “You’re kind of pale. Are you sure the heat isn’t getting to you?” he asked in concern.

Tommy nodded bravely. “I’m fine, Adam,” he reassured. Adam just nodded, kissing his temple as he let Tommy go.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam laughed as he and Tommy stumbled back to the table, Tommy giggling into his shoulder. “You’re insane,” he choked out, falling into his seat as Tommy slid into his lap, grinning as he curled around Adam.

Sutan whistled. “Somebody’s having fun tonight,” he said and they both giggled. “Who had the most to drink?” he asked and Adam snorted.

“Tommy tried to keep up with me again,” he said, earning a pout from his husband. “He gave up when he started having trouble dancing, though,” he said and Tommy snorted.

“I always have trouble dancing, I just gave up when the room started spinning,” he said, snuggling into Adam’s side.

Sutan snorted. “You’re insane, TommyJoe,” he said, then looked around. “God I keep looking for a hot boy and all I see are eyefuls of boobs,” he said with a dramatic sigh. “It’s tragic,” he said.

Adam snickered. “Yeah, I think the only really superhot one in the club is sitting at this table,” he said.

Taylor grinned. “Awwwww, thank you,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.

Adam rolled his eyes, laughing. “Fuck you, I meant my husband,” he said, curling his hands around Tommy’s side and leg as he smiled at him. 

Tommy smirked. “Nuh-uh, Sutan’s superhot, not me,” he said, hanging off of Adam’s neck to smile at Sutan. “Right life-partner?”

“I don’t know,” he said, winking. “You and Adam look pretty hot,” he said. “Especially all over each other,” he added pointedly.

Tommy smirked. “Hell yeah, girls like that shit,” he said, turning to face Adam. “Making out with you got me laid so many times,” he said, and Adam snorted.

“That’s not right,” he said. “I mean, it’s cool, I’m hot enough to get your scrawny little ass laid-“

“HEY!” Tommy said, offended. “I, Mr. Lambert, am not scrawny!” he said, then swayed slightly, giggling. “Besides, I did okay before you,” he said and Adam giggled, smiling up at him.

“So you’re saying being my bassist hasn’t increased your getting laid?” he asked skeptically.

Tommy hummed. “Never said that, but it’s not like I never got any,” he said, leaning in to kiss Adam sweetly. “If you’ve never noticed, I’m cute and tiny,” he said, twirling a piece of Adam’s hair with a glazed smile on his face.

Adam grinned, sliding his hand up Tommy’s side, worming his fingers under the hem of his shirt until he was pressing against skin. “Oh, I’ve noticed,” he said, looking up. “You’re damn sexy,” he said, kissing him.

Tommy giggled against his lips. “You have to say that, you’re the sad bastard that married me,” he said and Adam shook his head, grinning as he curled his arms around Tommy’s tiny waist.

“You’ve always been beautiful, I guess I just wanted to keep you to myself when I married you,” he said and Tommy giggled, kissing him again.

“Yeah, yeah, all the boys tell me,” he teased and Adam laughed, smiling at him.

Sutan just rolled his eyes. “You two are ridiculous?” he said, shaking his head.

Tommy just snorted. “Nu-uh, he is,” he said then kissed Adam again, moaning softly as Adam lapped into his mouth. “Dun-wanna go home,” he admitted and Adam nodded.

“Home is where life is boring and there’s crap we have to do,” he affirmed. “Like cleaning up after ourselves and having to do your laundry,” Adam said, earning a grin.

“I’ll try and do my own laundry, how’s that?” Tommy offered and Adam nodded, pressing their noses together.

“Good job.”

“Jesus Christ, you two are so domestic and stupid it’s sickening,” Sutan said, getting up to walk off.

Adam just frowned at how Tommy tensed. “You okay?”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, fine.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When they got home, Tommy promptly grabbed Adam’s hand, tugged him upstairs without a single word and tugged him into bed. “Tommy, I need to at least wash-“

“No, sleep,” Tommy demanded, pulling Adam up against his back. 

“Tommy, I’m wearing jeans-“

“Shut up, Lambert, wrap your arms around me, and just go the fuck to sleep,” he demanded, earning a chuckle.

“Alright, baby,” Adam said, curling his arms around Tommy. Tommy felt a kiss to the back of his head and he hummed, smiling. “You’re precious,” Adam said softly, stroking is stomach soothingly. He kissed the back of Tommy’s neck, sighing as he finally started to relax after a long tour of _stress_. “Love you, TommyJoe,” he said softly.

Tommy hummed, settling happily. “I love you, too.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Adam woke up, he could only describe the feeling he felt in every molecule of his body as _happy_. He was warm, sleep-heavy, well rested, and there was soft, warm blonde hair twined around his fingers. He smiled tiredly as he looked down at the head on his chest. Tommy was still sleeping hard, one hand fisted in Adam’s shirt, the other somewhere underneath them. Adam shifted slightly and curled his arms better around Tommy, kissing his hair. He sighed heavily, smiling as he saw the sun was setting out the window. They had to have been asleep for a good twelve hours and he loved it.

Adam yawned happily, humming as he looked around the room, enjoying the feeling of lazing around with nowhere to be and nothing to do. The warmth and steady, soothing rhythm of Tommy’s breathing was lulling him into a doze again but one thought woke him up like a slap to the face. 

They were supposed to meet with Lane the next afternoon about having their marriage annulled. Adam felt his heart twist at the thought of actually discussing the inevitable. Adam sighed, closing his eyes as he clung to Tommy. Despite what a few of the guys had tried to tell him on tour, he knew that no matter how comfortable Tommy had become, he was straight. Even if by some ridiculous circumstances Tommy had ended up married to a guy, Tommy Joe Ratliff liked women. It was unfair of him to expect Tommy to want to stay with him when he wasn’t what he wanted.

Adam closed his eyes, heart breaking just a little as he thought about how, probably within a month, he wouldn’t be married anymore. Adam _liked_ it. He would even venture as far as to be okay with a sex-less future if it meant keeping the life he’d grown accustomed to. It had only been seven and a half months but it was enough that the idea of Tommy moving out and sleeping in his massive bed without Tommy and going shopping without needing to buy Tommy’s favorite conditioner and not calling Tommy to see what he wanted for dinner…

It all hurt. 

Adam knew he couldn’t keep him though. He knew Tommy loved him as much as a human could. Tommy was his best friend and he knew Tommy would do anything for him. But it wasn’t right to ask Tommy to continue their _lie_ when somewhere out there was a person who Tommy could be happy with in every way possible. A person who had boobs. A person who wasn’t him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy woke up, he giggled, feeling a strange tickling on his ribs. He wiggled away, giggling sleepily, only to sigh when the tickle was replaced by a soothing warmth. “Mmm, Adam?”

“Yeah baby?” Adam asked and Tommy heard the laughter in his voice.

Tommy opened his eyes, then frowned. “Did I just giggle?” he asked and Adam laughed, nodding as he let it all out. Tommy looked down and rolled his eyes when he saw Adam’s hand on his ribcage. “You suck so much,” he said, sighing. “You were tickling me.”

Adam snickered. “I do suck, thank you very much,” he said and Tommy shot him a one-eyed glare. “And I was just touching you and you got all goosebumpy and it was adorable and then you started giggling,” he said, smiling at Tommy in amusement.

Tommy yawned, snuggling close. “Mmm don’t wanna move. Warm,” he said, peeking up through his bangs at Adam.

Adam sighed, stroking his fingers through Tommy’s hair to push his bangs from his face. “Me either,” he said, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s forehead. “But we need to get something to eat and maybe do something really strenuous so we can fall asleep again cause we’ve got to be up and over at Lane’s in the morning,” he explained. 

Tommy froze, going stiff in his hold. “Oh… yeah, that.”

Adam fought back the questions and the heavy sigh he was trying to avoid. “It’ll all be over soon, huh?” Adam said softly.

Tommy sighed, nodded. “Yeah,” he whispered, pressing his face into Adam’s chest. “You’ll be rid of me before long.”

Adam curled his arms around Tommy. “I will never be rid of you. I don’t want to be rid of you. You’re my TommyJoe.”

Tommy nodded. “I’ll always be yours,” he said and Adam cringed slightly. He knew it was a bad sign when he was starting to hear exactly what he wanted to out of simple statements Tommy made.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lane smiled. “And so then we’ll just mail the paperwork back to you, Mr. Sands, and you’ll notify them when the process is completed?” she asked and the man on the screen nodded.

“Exactly. Now,” he started. “Mr. Lambert, you and Mr. Ratliff will, legally, have the equal legal regards as though your marriage never happened,” he explained. “There will be no division of the assets in an annulment, so there are no worries over settling estate matters unless one of you plans to sue the other for support,” he explained.

Tommy shook his head. “No way. It’s not that big of a deal, honestly,” he said and Adam nodded. “We’ll just… deal with it ourselves.”

“Well that’s good,” he said. “Well, I’ll have the documents mailed to you, you have them sign them and make sure everything is in order and mail them back. Your marriage should easily be annulled in about a month.”

Adam just nodded, looking down at his hands. “Thank you, Mr. Sands.”

Tommy looked away, unable to make eye contact with either of them. The whole situation was wrong. It felt wrong. Tommy didn’t want to think about waiting for the papers that would erase his marriage to come. He knew it had to be done, it was the right thing. But nothing stopped it from feeling wrong.

“Alright well, this nightmare will be over soon,” Lane said and Adam gave her a forced smile.

“Great job, Lane,” he said, then hugged her. “But we’re both still pretty jetlagged and stuff,” he said, glancing at Tommy. “Ready to go?” he asked. Tommy nodded wordlessly as he stood. Adam raised an eyebrow at Tommy’s clenched jaw and smiled. “Thanks Lane.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The ride home was painfully silent. Adam kept wanting to look over at Tommy but finding himself unable to stomach the idea of it happening a lot less in the near future. He knew it was the only way but it still left him feeling like he’d forgotten something important, only that wasn’t the problem at all.

“So, um… I guess-“ Tommy sighed. “I guess we’ve got to pull off a breakup? And I need to move out before the annulment is final,” he said softly, glancing at Adam. “I’m not sure where I’m gonna go.”

Adam felt his throat tightening at the prospect of how soon this was all happening. Within weeks Tommy would be gone from their home. It wouldn’t be _their_ home. Within just over a month their marriage would be over. Sometime in the coming weeks they had to find a way to break up without making either of them look like the villain or rekindle the abuse and cheating scandal claims. Adam bit his lip, knowing that he _couldn’t_ let the stinging in the corner of his eyes succeed. He couldn’t cry over this. It would ruin everything. It was a marriage started out of a mistake. It was a convenient scheme to not ruin their reputations and it was time for it to end. Crying over ending his fake marriage with his straight best friend would make it all to clear where he really stood in the matter.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Adam said in a steady voice. “We’ll find you a place. And we’ll worry about the circumstances of the split when we get to it,” he said, offering Tommy a stronger voice that he knew was possible of him at the moment.

However, despite his bravado, on the inside all he felt was hollow and empty, like he had lost Tommy already.


	19. Chapter 19

The weeks leading up to their annulment disappeared way too fast for Tommy’s liking. When it came time for them to find him a place to move to, it was decided that, initially, the best thing to do is to ‘break up’ and for Tommy to go stay with Monte for a little while before they announced they were divorcing.

The night before they were going to start packing Tommy’s things, they sat curled together on the couch trying to decide what their story would be. Tommy sighed, pushing his head against Adam’s shoulder. “I don’t want to make everybody think you did something to make me hate you,” Tommy said.

Adam sighed. “But I don’t want you taking the blame, Tommy-“

“Why not?” Tommy asked. “We can just say I thought you were what I wanted but in the end, I really am straight?” he suggested. “It’s the least controversial we’re going to get,” he explained. “We’ll say that I love you more than anything and I thought it was what I wanted, but in the end I realized I don’t love you that way and think you deserve more.”

Adam sighed, but nodded. “Alright,” he said finally. “But I get to act like I blame myself and pretend to be all miserable still,” he said and Tommy smiled sadly.

“I’m not sure I’ll be acting that part,” he admitted. “It’s gonna suck living alone again,” he said and Adam smiled sadly.

“Things are going to get tough for me and you now,” he agreed. “But it’ll all work out,” he said, bumping their heads together. “No matter what, we’re best friends and our divorce of our fake marriage won’t hurt that.”

Tommy laughed. “It’s an annulment,” he corrected and Adam made a face.

“Whatever, same difference, it ends our marriage,” he said, then looked at Tommy. “We’re probably the only couple in history to sit around talking about our ending marriage so casually.” 

Tommy smiled sadly. “Yeah, probably,” he said, then curled his head against Adam’s chest. “God, how am I supposed to sleep by myself tomorrow? I’m going to end up having to steal a kid to cuddle all night so I can sleep,” he joked and Adam clenched his teeth, wrapping his arms around Tommy close.

“You can go back to being an insomniac,” Adam said in a small voice, holding Tommy close.

Tommy curled their fingers together and sighed. “I guess so.” He closed his eyes and pressed himself against Adam, trying his best to hold on as long as possible.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Neither of them really spoke as they worked together, sorting through _their_ things and leaving everything ‘Adam’ and taking everything ‘Tommy’ to put in boxes. A lot of random things they weren’t actually unsure of who they belonged to. Clothes were obvious, usually as were movies and things, but there were little things, like the coffee mug Tommy had pretty much claimed as his, though it was there when he moved in, or the various scarves they tended to swap back and forth, that neither of them could really decide who they belonged to.

Eber had come over to help them with loading boxes into Tommy’s car. Monte had come to help as well, since they were taking stuff to his place and Tommy actually trusted him with his stuff like his guitars and amps. They both did most of the loading up boxes into their cars since Tommy was busy helping Adam sort their shit out.

By the end of the packing, around late afternoon, Tommy stood up and looked around. “You know… I think I’ve got it all,” he said, then turned to Adam, who stood up, hands in his pockets.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He looked around, the pushed his hair back. “God, my house looks empty now,” he said and Tommy smiled, biting his lip. Adam smiled sadly and looked at all the empty spaces. “Man, it’s gonna be weird living alone now.”

“I know, right?” Tommy said, then sighed. “So, I’ll ‘leak’ that I’m staying with Monte and then when I’m asked, I’ll ‘end the speculation’ and say we’re getting divorced,” he said expectantly. Adam just nodded, unable to make his throat work. Tommy nodded. “Good, um… when are we supposed to sign the papers?” he asked.

“Lane says about two weeks and then we’ll mail them off and in another week everything should be over,” he said, voice catching slightly. He cleared his throat to cover it.

Tommy nodded, then sighed, turning to Adam. “I want to get this over with before your dad and Monte get back in here, but I just wanted-“

Adam cringed. “Tommy-“

Tommy shook his head and continued on. “I wanted to say that I don’t regret the ten months we’ve been married. I’ve had so much fun. I know it’s been tough and at the start it was really frustrating sometimes, but I’m glad I got to be your husband,” he said, looking up at him.

Adam just smiled, nodding. “I had a crazy awesome time,” he said, then sighed, scooping Tommy into his arms, hugging him. “I love you, Glitterbaby. You know that, right?” he asked, pressing his lips to Tommy’s head. “We won’t be able to talk much for the next few weeks but no worries. Once this blows over, we’ll be fine.”

Tommy nodded, tilting his head back. “Of course we will.” He smiled up at Adam, closing his eyes when Adam leaned in to press a kiss to his forehead. When they pulled apart, Tommy walked to grab his last bag, only to turn back when he looked down. “Hey, um,” he paused and then held up his left hand. “What should we do with these, do you think?” he asked, looking at his ring.

Adam frowned, looking down at his. “Oh wow, I’d forgot,” he admitted, then looked up. “Um…”

“Should we just get rid of them?” Tommy asked softly.

Adam felt a mild sense of panic at the idea. “Can I maybe have yours?” he asked, then shrugged awkwardly. “You know, just for the memories?” he asked in a small voice.

Tommy smiled. “Yeah,” he said, then wiggled his ring off, wiggling his fingers at the lack of weight before walking over to hand it to Adam. Adam took it and smiled down at his palm. Tommy looked up, chewing on his bottom lip. “Do you think I could have yours?” he asked softly.

Adam nodded bravely, smiling sadly as he twisted his ring off, something he hadn’t done since their wedding. “Yeah, baby,” he said, taking a breath as it came off. He laid it in Tommy’s palm and Tommy gave him a forced smile as he shoved it into his pocket. 

“Good luck,” Tommy said, turning to walk away.

Adam nodded. “Good luck, TommyJoe.” He walked Tommy downstairs, holding his hand until they got to the door. They hugged once more and then Adam hugged his dad and Monte, saying goodbye as they all left to help Tommy get his stuff to Monte’s.

As soon as they were gone, Adam walked through the house, looking around. He wandered through the house, looking around uneasily. It felt empty. It didn’t feel like home anymore. He couldn’t stand it and it had been only minutes.

When he got back to their- _his_ bedroom, he walked over to the table and grabbed Tommy’s ring, holding it as he looked around the room. He felt his heart clench because it was the most real part of the annulment so far to see their room no longer _theirs_. Adam groaned, shaking his head as he walked and put the ring back on the table, turning to go grab his phone immediately.

He started digging through his closet while the other line rang. When it was picked up, Adam immediately spoke, not allowing any argument. “I need to go out. Now.”

There was a pause and Sutan sighed. “Tommy moved out today didn’t he?” he asked and Adam’s jaw clenched.

“The point is,” he said pointedly, ignoring Sutan’s statement. “I need to go out. I need to get out of this house and I want to get a drink and I want you to fucking help make sure I have as much fun as I can.”

“It won’t help-“

“I’m not asking for therapy, I’m asking for a friend,” Adam argued forcibly. “Please?” he added softly.

Sutan sighed and Adam waited. “Of course, Adam. I’m always here if you need me. I’ll be over in an hour. Get pretty,” he instructed and Adam simply hung up, tossing the phone to the bed as he dug through the closet, determined to be as fierce as possible, even if only to hide the sadness.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam downed another shot, smiling at the burn. “Fuck yes,” he said and Sutan sighed, shaking his head.

“You’re turning into a boy,” he said and Adam glared. “You’re drinking yourself stupid rather than facing your feelings and you aren’t usually such a _man_ over emotional shit,” he pointed out.

Adam snorted. “I’m not drinking myself stupid and I don’t have any feelings I need to face-“

“You’re upset and your reaction was to come get drunk,” Sutan said, sighing. “Look, I told you no therapy but you need to know something I think your _stupid_ brain isn’t wrapping itself around-“

“No,” Adam interrupted. “What I need is to dance,” he said suddenly, smiling brightly when the next song picked up. “C’mon, let’s dance!” he said, grabbing Sutan to drag after him.

Sutan groaned but allowed Adam to tug him along. Adam was a friend in need and if that need was for Sutan to go along with his stupidity for one night, he figured he could do that. He let Adam tug him into dancing and promised himself he would just bring it up later on when Adam was sober.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The sun was coming up by the time Sutan managed to get Adam back home. Adam was _drunk_. Sutan had seen him tipsy, slightly inebriated, but Adam almost never got completely hammered. At least not that he had seen…besides the night he got married. “Jesus fuck, you massive fucker,” he grunted, helping Adam up the stairs. “If you fall we’re both gonna die,” he informed him.

“Gonna barf,” Adam slurred at the top of the stairs.

Sutan promptly screamed slightly and dropped him. “Not on me you’re not!” he said, then rolled his eyes when Adam managed to get to his feet and stumbled into his bedroom and to the bathroom. He cringed, shuddering when he heard retching and splattering. “Oh God, what the hell is wrong with this idiot?” he groaned to himself. He walked downstairs to get Adam a bottle of water and some ‘let’s hope it helps somewhat’ pills from the kitchen. After rummaging around in the cupboard, he came upstairs to find Adam sitting on the side of the bed, already down to his tee-shirt and boxers, looking at something in his hands. He walked over and sighed when he saw the glint of a ring. “Oh, Adam,” he said with a heavy sigh and Adam looked up then sniffed.

“‘M getting divorced,” he said in a tiny voice, especially for someone so loud and boisterous. He looked up with wide, glazed over eyes and black streaks where he had splashed his face with water and failed. They almost looked like tear tracks, only Adam wasn’t crying. 

Sutan nodded, handing him the bottle before holding out a few pills. “I know,” he said softly, kneeling down to look at him, making sure he was actually okay.

Adam swallowed the pills and drank the water, swaying slightly. “Don’t want to,” he mumbled softly, stroking the ring in his hand with the fingers of his other hand. “I like being married.”

Sutan sighed, putting a hand on his knee comfortingly. “I know, honey,” he said, looking up at his face. “Why are you doing this?” he asked softly, looking up at him. Two dazed, stormy gray eyes fixed on his.

“Huh?” Adam asked dumbly. “What am I doing?” he asked.

Sutan rolled his eyes. “I’ve been trying to tell you since I joined the damn tour in Asia that it’s become real, Adam. I know people have said things and suggested them and I know it’s not necessarily our places to butt in on your life, but I’m not going to keep my mouth shut when it’s killing one of the best people I’ve ever met,” he said fiercely. “Tommy is an amazing man, Adam.”

Adam scoffed. “Think I don’t know that?!” he asked, the fell over, laying on the edge of the bed, pouting. “He’s so fuckin’ special, you know?” He sighed and pulled his feet onto the bed so that he was properly on it, not falling off. “I don’t-“ Sutan cringed when he saw Adam’s eyes beginning to shimmer. “I don’t even care he’s straight. I don’t care if he’s only my best friend. I don’t care if it’s never more, I just don’t want to lose him,” he said weakly. “And I don’t- he’s only been gone _hours_ and it’s wrong. I want him here. This is his home and- and he’s-“ Sutan shook his head sadly when he saw a tear streak from the corner of Adam’s eye. “He’s my husband. I don’t even care how fucked up it is, I just… I want him,” he whimpered, then sighed. “And can’t have ‘em.”

Sutan sighed heavily. “Adam, that’s my point, sweetie. I’m pretty sure you _can_. I thought he was going to throw up or something when I confronted him about the email you guys got that night in Malaysia. He doesn’t want this any more than you, Adam. You two are such _boys_ and you’re not communicating and if you did you’d see this isn’t necessary!” He grabbed Adam’s hand. “I usually stay out of my friends’ lives but this is going to be the biggest mistake you two ever make and unless one of you grows a pair and talks about your damn feelings nothing’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to.”

Adam shook his head. “I know he likes being married to me. I _know_ he wants to stay married too,” he said and Sutan gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to pull his own hair.

“Then why the fuck are you not stepping up?! Adam, why are you making such a stupid decision if you’re actually aware that your husband wants to _stay_ -“

“He is _straight_ ,” he said and Sutan gave him a confused look. “Tommy loves me, he wants to be married to me because he loves his best friend and we’re happy with this life. We get to spend every day with each other and the hanging out never ends. It’s like being roommates with the coolest person alive or something. Even when we fight, we have so much fun together and he likes that level of comfort.” He shook his head weakly. “But he doesn’t deserve that-“

Sutan groaned, giving in to the urge to pull his own hair. “Oh you stupid, noble fuck-“

Adam gave him a fierce look. “Tommy deserves _everything_. If he’s married to me, he’ll never meet the girl that’s meant for him. If he stays married to me, he’ll never get that happiness he deserves. I know that someone as amazing as Tommy can’t be destined to _not_ meet his soul mate and if he’s married to me when she comes along, he’ll miss out on the most important thing in his life.” He smiled sadly, sniffling. “I love him too much to take that away from him. He deserves every _single_ good thing that the world can offer him and I refuse to let anything interfere with him having that.” He smiled, shuffling dozily up the bed until he was on a pillow.

Sutan just watched him with a mixed feeling of _oh my God, he’s so stupid_ and _holy shit, he’s SERIOUSLY in love with Tommy_ as he curled his fingers around the ring in his hand and wiggled into the pillow, smiling despite the few tears that his drunken mind hadn’t managed to stave off rolling down his cheek. 

Adam smiled down at him with a mixture of drunken and sleepy. “Tommy doesn’t like to talk about it but he’s got like… the most amazing plans for the future. He says they won’t happen because he doesn’t have any plans on an intentional marriage in the future, but he keeps talking about how much he wants a family. Especially now that all his supply of babies are toddlers,” he said with a smile. “He loves kids. I can’t wait until he gets married and has a lot of them because he’ll be the best father ever.” He gave Sutan a wet, drowsy smile. “See? I can’t keep him from having that. He’ll meet an amazing woman and they’ll have a bunch of kids and they’ll have their happily ever after and nothing in the world would make me _want_ to keep that from him.” He sighed, smiling the most broken smile Sutan had ever seen. “He isn’t mine. I don’t deserve him. And even if I did, he deserves better and more and I’d probably rip out my own vocal cords if it meant that I could be sure Tommy got everything he deserves.”

Sutan just swallowed thickly, whimpering slightly as tears slid down his cheeks. “You fucking bastard,” he choked out, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ, you noble son of a bitch, if anybody deserves everything in life, it’s you, damn it!” he choked out. “You’ve made me fucking _cry_ at how fucking much you love him! Nobody will ever love Tommy that much!” He sniffed, wiping at his cheek. “Fuck, nobody will ever love _anybody_ as much as that! Ever!” he let out a wet snort as he laughed through his tears. “If you don’t fucking tell Tommy that- EXACTLY that, I’ll fucking tell him myself and not give a damn how much of a twelve year old girl it makes me!” he proclaimed.

Adam smiled sadly. “Drama queen,” he said affectionately. Sutan just smacked Adam in the chest lightly, shaking his head as he leaned his back against the bed, sitting on the floor as he tried to stop the tears still falling just from thinking about someone he cared so much about living with that painful of a broken heart.


	20. Chapter 20

Tommy was supposed to wait a few days and then ‘slip’ and tweet something to suggest he was crashing at Monte’s for a while. When he did, he made it simple.

_Sharing a room with a little girl is seriously frightening. Keep waking up to dolls watching me sleep._

Surprisingly few people picked up on his hint and most seemed to suspect he had spent the night at Monte’s place just for the night or something rather than drive back home. A few of the tweets were close but he waited for the right one to respond to in order to reveal his impending divorce. He hated it. It made him feel sick to think about it.

Finally, he spotted the perfect tweet, one asking ‘Why were you there not at home with your husband, silly boy?’ only to see two more replies pop up before he could choose it. He decided to make sure they weren’t better, so he refreshed the page, only to feel his heart sink and his blood grow cold. Both tweets made him want to die a little more on the inside.

_@TommyJoeRatliff its so sweet you get along with kids. You and @adamlambert will be great parents someday_

That tweet stung. It made him fight off flashes of what a future with Adam could’ve been like. However, the one that struck him the most wasn’t in response to his tweet but rather just a mention of him.

_After five years,Sara and I finally married yesterday!We decided to go for it after seeing happy gay couples like @TommyJoeRatliff and hubby_

He swallowed thickly as he clicked on the username and found the girl’s profile to be full of congratulatory tweets from people. He looked at her user picture and smiled at the image of two women waving at the camera. He saw a tweet she posted in reply to someone’s reply to her mention of him and Adam and felt his breath catching.

_They just look so happy and in love after such a short time together it seemed worth all the hatred and BS to be that happy too._

He went back to his replies and saw a few concerned tweets showing up. He tried to click reply to one but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He shuddered, putting his head in his hands because he knew it had to be done. He closed out twitter and shook his head. He could try again later, but he just couldn’t do that after seeing personal mentions of his and Adam’s ‘bravery’ really helping other people.

It was too much to think about at one time.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sutan had stayed to make sure Adam was actually okay, so he wasn’t at all surprised to see Adam stumbling down the stairs in the morning. “Dude,” he groaned, walking into the kitchen, stumbling to the cabinet that housed his pills. “Holy fuck, what did I do last night?” he asked.

Sutan snorted. “You were an idiot, that’s what,” he said, then sighed. “Are you okay?”

Adam nodded weakly. He looked up, frowning. “Did I cry last night?” he asked, making a face.

“Yeah, and you made me cry to, damn it,” Sutan said, glaring.

Adam frowned. “Why was I crying?” he asked and then waved a hand. “And even more, why were you crying?”

“Because, you idiot,” Sutan started. “You were outlining all the reasons you think you don’t deserve Tommy,” he said and Adam blinked guiltily. “And why you think he deserves better. And why you _refuse_ to accept what everybody else sees!”

Adam sighed. “Drunk me is sappy-“

“Any you is stupid!” Sutan argued. “You refuse to comprehend that he _loves_ you. Not as his best friend, but as your husband and you’re too damn noble to stop and think that you can actually have him if you want him, asshole.”

Adam shook his head. “He’s been straight for thirty years, why the hell would he end up being happy married to me? Really, Sutan?” he asked and Sutan shot him a dark look.

“This should be preaching to the fucking choir, but love knows no gender, Adam.” He groaned. “You frustrate me so badly sometimes. He doesn’t give two shits what’s between your legs, he just loves you. I mean, that night you guys were informed you could get your marriage annulled soon, I thought he was going to cry right fucking there. He doesn’t want this.”

“He doesn’t _deserve_ to have to live like this,” Adam argued. “Whatever you say, I just can’t imagine doing that to Tommy. He may _think_ he wants this but the fact of the matter is, you can’t really live happily ever after with somebody who isn’t even the right gender for you. I mean, I know that no matter what, I could never really be happy with a woman,” he pointed out.

Sutan snorted. “You aren’t Tommy, Adam. Don’t you think he gets a say in what he wants?”

Adam gave him a look. “And is he saying it?” he asked softly. Sutan just glared. “Didn’t think so,” he said, turning to walk out, still looking pretty ragged.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy smiled, making his voice high pitched as he made the doll in his hand pour more ‘tea’ into Ariel’s cup. “Have some more tea, Princess Ariel!”

“I knew there was something to be said about that stint in pink hair last year,” Lisa said, startling Tommy, who looked up, blushing. He knew how he looked, sitting in a tiny chair across from Ariel, who was playing tea party with him. He as even wearing a crown.

“Mommy, Princess Tommy is pouring tea, SHHH!” Ariel complained and Lisa laughed.

Tommy giggled, biting his lip as he felt his traitorous cheeks heat. “I’m a rockin’ princess, mommy,” he teased, smiling when Ariel nodded.

“Ariel likes having her big sister around,” Lisa teased and Tommy shot her a look that clearly said what he couldn’t say in front of a little kid.

Ariel looked up. “Mommy, why is Tommy staying with us?” she asked and Tommy blinked, looking at her in surprise.

Lisa frowned. “Don’t you like Tommy?”

“Yeah,” she said, then looked over at him. “But why hasn’t he gone home?” she asked with wide eyes.

Tommy smiled at her. “I’m looking for a new place to live so daddy said I could stay here with you for a while. Don’t you like having me around?” he asked.

She nodded. Lisa smiled. “Alright, I’ll leave you two girls to your tea party,” she said, smiling.

When she had gone, Tommy and Ariel went back to their tea party. However, after a few minutes, Ariel looked at him. “Tommy, I thought you live with Adam,” she said and Tommy froze.

“Well… not anymore, sweetie,” he said with a brave smile.

“But why not?” she asked and Tommy cringed, slightly panicking as he fought to find a way to explain ‘we’re getting divorced from a fake marriage’ to a little kid.

“Well, baby, we’re not living together anymore. I’m gonna get me a new place to live at now,” he said.

She just looked at him, all big, confused eyes. “But ain’t you married? Like mommy and daddy,” she added.

Tommy felt the panicky feeling growing. “Well, um… we were but we’re… not gonna be anymore,” he said.

She gaped. “Why not?” 

Tommy felt sorry for how confused she looked. He couldn’t imagine how her little mind was trying to process the idea of getting married and then not being married anymore. He wished so badly he could just run away but the last thing he wanted was for her to stay confused and have her parents pissed at him for fucking up their kid’s head. “Well, sometimes when people get married they just don’t end up working out. Sometimes you change your mind, you know?” he said.

She just looked even more confused. “But why?”

Tommy sighed. “Me and Adam just aren’t gonna be married anymore, sweetheart.”

“Why? I thought you liked Adam,” she said and Tommy smiled sadly at the confused little frown on her face.

“I love Adam, honey, we’re still friends I just won’t be married to him anymore,” he explained as best he could. It was impossible to try and explain that not all princes and princesses get married and live happily ever after without ending up with a boot up his ass after he made Monte’s daughter cry.

She just looked at him in a way that was a bit disconcerting coming from a kid. “But if you love Adam why don’t you want to be married anymore?” she asked.

Tommy froze, trying to think of an answer only to realize that, deep down, he didn’t have one.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy laughed when Isaac hopped up on top of his amp while they were setting up. “The fuck do you want?” he asked, smiling.

“So I notice you haven’t been on twitter in like… days. You never do that,” he said curiously. “I’ve got nobody to bug.”

Tommy shrugged. “I just haven’t had time-“

Ravi interrupted, walking over. “Quit chatting ladies, got a gig to do, Isaac your drums are just sitting there in their cases, dude,” he said and Isaac rolled his eyes.

“We’re just chatting about twitter asshat, I’ll get there in a minute,” he said, pretending to whack him with his stick.

“Oh yeah, what about?” he asked. “Ross said something about how you never replied to his messages and he finally gave up and just tweeted you and you still didn’t respond,” he said and Tommy shrugged.

“Just haven’t been on. I don’t see what the big deal is,” he said with a shrug.

Isaac hummed. “Well, I wasn’t supposed to tell you but we’ve been taking bets on why you haven’t been tweeting.”

Tommy looked up. “Who is ‘we’?”

“Well there’s me and Monte and then Cam says she’s in for two-hundred. I think Soph is betting against us all but she refuses to talk to me, just Monte. I know Terrance wanted to put some money in but he didn’t want Sutan to hear about it and refuse to keep him supplied in those awesome rhinestones he manages to find-“

“Wait, tell me this isn’t about what I think it is,” Tommy said, looking annoyed.

Isaac just shrugged, giving him an apologetic look. “It’s been a week and a half and you haven’t said anything publically yet.” He looked at him sympathetically. “Monte says you were supposed to do it the next day and that’s the last time you were on twitter.”

Ravi hummed. “I’m missing something,” he said. “And I’m assuming it’s not music related,” he said suspiciously.

Tommy sighed heaving. “I’m getting divorced,” he said in a low voice. “And I was supposed to announce it when I moved out,” he said, sitting down on the amp he’d chased Isaac off of.

Ravi cringed. “Ow, sorry to hear about that man. Hell, has it even been a year?” he asked and Tommy shook his head.

“Ten and a half months and we’re signing the papers next week, I guess. Haven’t talked to him but that’s what I heard last about the papers getting here,” he said.

Isaac nudged him. “Why haven’t you announced it.”

Tommy shrugged. “I just… there’s all these people all the time going on and on about how much us getting married inspired them and shit and it’s like I’m trying to tell people ‘good news! The couple that inspired you to tell everybody to fuck themselves and have a lesbian wedding are divorcing in less than a year, best of luck in your happy life together’!” He completed his sarcastic remark with a cheesy double thumbs up. “I mean, what the fuck, how am I supposed to do that shit to people?” he whined, tugging at his bangs distractedly. “It’s just… fucked all around.”

Isaac shot a glance at Ravi and thought of how phrase his question. “Well, you’re the one that’s ending it,” he said pointedly. “It’s the reason they decided you could break the news.”

Tommy shot him a dark look. “Don’t make it out like I _want_ to do this shit. No-fucking-body knows what this is like for me, okay? I’m doing what has to be done and excuse the fuck out of me if I’m pretty damn offended that people are taking _bets_ on my reaction to getting divorced,” he said fiercely, walking away so that he could cool off without saying something he didn’t mean to.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy got back to Monte’s house, Monte was sitting out back with a beer and his guitar. Tommy grabbed a beer of his own as he walked through the kitchen and then walked out to join him. “So, Isaac has called twice saying you wouldn’t answer his calls and texts,” he noted and Tommy sighed, sitting down.

“He just- I just don’t really want to hear anything he could possibly have to say.” He snorted. “He didn’t mean anything, he wasn’t trying to bug me, he just did.”

Monte nodded. “So, you know I really don’t want to get involved in your dramatic ass love life but for the first time in my life, I feel like it’s up to me to tell you that you’re an idiot, TommyJoe,” he said and Tommy just stared, eyes wide in shock. Monte rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me that. You’re not the only one, but you’re the one sharing a room with my seven year old,” he said and Tommy groaned. “Oh yeah, by the way, thanks a lot for making me have to answer really awkward questions about divorce, jackass,” he said and Tommy snorted.

“Dude, she wouldn’t let me get away without saying something!” he defended. “And I’m not an idiot, dude. I’m just…” he shook his head. “It’s like I told Isaac, my marriage fucking inspired some people to do shit they wouldn’t have done and how do you come back and go ‘oh yeah, your inspirational marriage is over, good luck with your life!’ and not feel like shit?” he asked. “I don’t want to be the one to fuck with these people.”

“Tommy, you’re an idiot because,” Monte gestured with his bottle of beer. “I don’t think a single one of us that’s seen you in the last six months expects for you to grow some balls and just tell Adam that you don’t want the annulment,” he said. “We all know it. I think he’s the only person deluded enough to miss it, and it’s just getting damn pathetic.”

Tommy snorted. “Monte, come on man, I don’t want to deal with it anymore than he does-“

“I’m not supposed to tell you this,” Monte started, then paused. “Actually no, I’m pretty sure the reason Sutan told me was in hopes I’d tell you because _God_ I don’t want to be mixed up in all this fifteen year old girl drama,” he said and Tommy snorted. “But the night you moved out, Adam and Sutan went out, Adam got _trashed_ in a way he was, as Sutan described, worse than the night you two got married, and he ended up crying himself to sleep and making Sutan cry in the process because he kept talking about how much he doesn’t deserve you and all this other sappy bullshit I don’t want to repeat.”

Tommy flinched like someone hit him. “What?” he asked weakly, looking down as he avoided Monte’s eyes.

“Yeah, he’s fucked up over this shit. I think everybody has tried to tell him you’ve been falling for him for a long time but he doesn’t believe it because he’s not good enough for you or you’re too special for him or some such shit. I think Sutan mentioned something about how Adam can’t keep you because there’s a chick with a space reserved in her heart just for you and if you’re with him you’ll miss out on your soul mate or some such shit. I swear, I may not be a cold-hearted bastard but I really don’t like _talking_ about all this sappy shit,” he said, groaning. “Just seriously dude, I like the guy, he’s been my bro for ages, and you’re my bro too and all this shit is killing you both. I get you’ve been straight so far but if you honestly have any sliver of gay in you, put both of yourselves out of your misery and let us stop texting around behind your backs like a high school cafeteria,” he pleaded. “Please, Tommy.”

Tommy just felt his pulse pounding. “Why would he think he’s not good enough for me?” he asked vacantly, completely confused. “What the actual fuck, dude? He thinks I _want_ this?!” he said, growing increasingly frantic. “That’s so fucked up, I’m only doing this because he deserves someone who actually fits in his life and because he’s my best friend and I’d rather he be that than lose him and-“

Monte put a hand on his shoulder. “Right, I love you, dude, but I’m not listening to your freak out. I’m just saying, work this shit out and do it fast because Lane got the legal documents in the mail. As soon as a lawyer reads it all over you guys are going to be signing, so you’ve only got a few days to think shit over.”

Tommy let his head fall to his hands, groaning helplessly as he tried not to panic. He looked up and noticed that Monte had left his guitar sitting on the step, so he got up and walked over to it. He sat down and curled his fingers around the fret board, not even recognizing what he was playing until he realized it was the song he had started writing and had been struggling to write since he’d moved in with Adam back in November. He felt his throat tightening and he closed his eyes, pouring out his emotions into the song that had no name.


	21. Chapter 21

Tommy sat writing furiously as he strummed his guitar, trying to work out _what_ he was even doing with this song. It was like something was driving him to finish it soon and he couldn’t really work out why. He didn’t understand the song because every once in a while over the last _year_ it had taken over him for a few hours at random and then abandoned him for weeks at a time. This time, however, he couldn’t stop working on it, fixing pieces, rewriting parts. He couldn’t even work out what was inspiring him because of how random the occurrences of inspiration had been over the last year.

He was just scribbling down a small finger shift to the previously written part of the bridge when Monte came walking in. “Yo, bad news,” he said, cringing. He offered Tommy his phone. “Look what got out,” he said softly.

Tommy took it and sighed, dropping his chin to rest on the body of the guitar in his hands as he read through all the tweeted links to an article with the headline ‘Rock Star Couple Split? Rumors of Discontent on Planet Glambert!’. “I should’ve said something already,” he said and Monte nodded.

“You should’ve said something long ago. You know tomorrow afternoon is the day, man,” he said gently.

Tommy nodded, sighing. “I know,” he said, then looked down at his papers. “I guess I’ll tweet to clear things up-“ He froze as he looked at the sheets and sheets of music. “Oh God,” he whispered, suddenly smiling a heartbroken smile as he picked them up, looking at them.

Monte raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

Tommy smiled. “I figured out my song,” he said in a tiny voice. He ducked his head, hands shaking around fistfuls of paper. “In the middle of this I figure out my song.”

Monte hummed. “Maybe there’s something to that song then, huh?” he tried and Tommy nodded, sighing as he started playing and thinking, staring off into place. Monte just watched him play with a blank stare for a moment before walking out, leaving Tommy to work out his own problems.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam sat at his table, sipping a glass of wine as he listened to Brad, who was sitting across from him going on and on about a boy he’d met. One out of many. “Brad,” he said suddenly, interrupting him.

Brad huffed. “What? Come on, I was just getting to the good part!” he whined petulantly and Adam smiled, looking down as he swirled his glass. 

“I have to admit something to you,” he said softly and Brad gave him a suspicious look. “My marriage was fake all along,” he said softly. “From the very beginning it was all faked.”

Brad paused, looking at him in confusion. “No it wasn’t,” he said disbelievingly.

Adam nodded, laughing humorlessly. “Our ‘elopement’ in Quebec,” he started, shaking his head. “I got about as drunk as I’ve ever been and suggested marriage would really shake things up and Tommy was even worse than me. Sutan was the only semi-responsible one there and he thought we’d just been hiding a secret relationship so he didn’t stop us. Then we found out the next morning it was too each other and people started piecing their memories together while Sutan painted he picture…” Adam sipped his wine, snorted. “We found out later that you can’t divorce unless you live there,” he said bitterly.

Brad just hummed. “Yeah, bullshit,” he said and Adam looked up in confusion. Brad rolled his eyes. “Maybe your marriage started out as a mistake that couldn’t be fixed right away, but the ten and a half months you guys were ‘together’ were real,” he said. 

Adam shook his head. “I just told you, it was all just faking to cover our asses-“

“Bullshit,” Brad said simply.

Adam frowned. “I think I know my _cover up_ better than someone who just now found out it wasn’t real.”

Brad looked at him long and hard, searching his eyes. “Your marriage at the start may have been a mistake. But you don’t go along with a marriage for a _year_ unless there’s something real there.” He shook his head. “Besides, nobody who has seen you two together this year, or even worse, seen you two apart since the ‘break up’ is stupid enough to think this has all been fake.”

“Brad, we did it as friends to save each other’s reputations, I’m not lying,” he stressed pointedly.

Brad just gave him a sad smile. “I saw you falling in love with him the first time you brought him out with the rest of us friends and introduced him to us, baby.” He raised his glass. “And that’s nearly three years ago now.”

Adam just stared. “I don’t know what to say to that,” he said weakly, voice leaving him.

Brad rolled his eyes. “I was so sure the straight boy was going to break your heart back then, and then you guys suddenly got MARRIED and I was shocked I’d never noticed you guys were secretly together. Now it makes sense,” he said with a wave of his hands. “I know what you’re like when you’re happy with someone and I’d never seen it between you guys. I’d seen that repression in your eyes when you looked at him but not the blinding happiness you have when you’re with someone you really like,” he said.

Adam sighed. “I hate all of this more than anything,” he whispered weakly as he downed the rest of his glass, then poured himself another.

Brad nodded. “Then why are you guys splitting up, baby?” he asked softly, reaching over to snag the bottle and pour himself more. “Because since your _wedding_ I was convinced it had all been real. I mean, obviously you two really did fall in love in the end, so why end it if it’s killing you?” he asked gently.

Adam sighed. “I don’t even really know. Everybody keeps telling me that he loves me. Sutan is ready to beat it into me that Tommy doesn’t care I’m the wrong gender, he wants me anyways.”

Brad nodded. “I can see it,” he said, then looked up. “Why are you still here splitting a bottle of wine with your slutty friend-slash- first guy to break your heart in the first place?” he asked curiously.

Adam smiled bitterly. “Everybody keeps telling me, but Tommy hasn’t said anything. I mean… if he wanted me, he’d have said something, you know? He’s the only one who knows what he feels, they are all just seeing what they want to see.” Adam bit his lip hard. “He’s had so long to say something and he hasn’t, so that says all it needs to, doesn’t it?” he asked weakly.

Brad just eyed him. “And have you said anything?” he asked and Adam looked up. “You said Tommy hasn’t said anything… well have you?” he challenged. “Love is a two-way street, baby.”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t need to say anything, though. He’s the only one who would have issues. I’m into dick, he’s got one, he’s beautiful, I’ve been molesting him for two and a half years, and he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. Why would I need to say anything after all of that?” he questioned belligerently. “The matter is not of us misunderstanding! He’s _straight_ and I have a dick! Even if he agreed to be with me, he’d never truly be happy with a _man_ , Brad!”

Brad snorted. “Don’t get uppity with me, bitch,” he said, then stood up. “And I’m glad you think so little of Tommy. Hell,” he flung his hand out. “So little of the power of _love_ in general! Do you really think someone who’s been ‘molested’, as you put it, by you for the past three years really cares about your dick in the grand scheme of ‘Adam’?!” he asked. “God, you’re so fucking stupid. Both of you. Him for not telling you he loves you and you for just assuming your gender determines if somebody loves you or not.” He turned to walk out. “If you two are too big of pussies to go for it and risk the embarrassment and awkwardness of being wrong, you don’t love each other enough anyways,” he said as he walked out. Adam just sat staring into his wine glass as Brad’s last shout echoed back from the door. “True love is worth fighting for until your last breath leaves your body, Adam. Why the hell do you think we broke up? We weren’t willing to fight for it so it wasn’t meant to be. GROW SOME BALLS!”

The slamming door rang through the silence as Adam stared down at his wineglass, letting one lonely tear escape before he reigned in his emotions, refusing to let anything make him cry again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy bit his lip as he walked into the living room. “Monte, can I borrow the studio for a second?” he asked.

“What’s up?” he asked, standing to follow Tommy out to the small studio he had set up in back of the garage. “Need my help?”

Tommy bit his lip. “Can you start the camera when I ask?” he said in a small voice and Monte nodded.

“You’re recording something without dolling up?” he teased and Tommy just gave him a deep look. “Wait, what are you doing?” Monte asked softly.

Tommy bit his lip. “Something I should’ve done a long time ago,” he said softly, taking his guitar to go sit on the stool across from Monte’s camera he sometimes used to record jam sessions. “Hey, where’s a music stand?” he asked. “I think I’ve got it but I don’t want to mess up anywhere and have to start over,” he said, holding up a handful of rumpled pages.

Monte walked over and grabbed a stand from the corner, taking it over to Tommy. “What is this?” he asked, picking up the sheets Tommy sat down long enough to check the tuning on his guitar. Monte flipped and found the first page, eyes narrowing as he read the title. “Oh you sappy bastard,” he said softly, then turned to give him a proud smile. “Good work, kid. This song better be amazing,” he said, putting the sheets back where they belonged.

Tommy smiled, cheeks slightly pink. “Well, I started it almost a year ago. It’s as perfect as it’ll ever be now,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Alright,” he said, looking up. “Let’s get started.”

Monte gave him a look filled with pride as he walked around to start the camera, watching with a wide smile as Tommy closed his eyes and started playing.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam was doing his morning yoga, trying to pretend the signing away his marriage that was happening in the afternoon was all just imaginary, when his phone rang. He glared at it but ignored it. However, when it rang several more times, he finally got up and went to answer it. “What?” he snapped, not bothering to see who it was. He heard splutters and yammering and pulled away to look and see that it was Sutan. “Sutan?”

“GET ON TWITTER!” he finally managed to get out. “Holy shit, Adam, go- now!”

Adam sighed and went to his computer, knowing nothing good could come from an urgent message to go to twitter. He logged on, however and saw a record number of mentions and replies. “What the fuck-“

“Ignore it all and look at Tommy’s tweet!” Sutan ordered.

Adam felt his gut clench as he imagined what it might say. What he found posted in a twitlonger tweet shocked him to say the least, however. He clicked it open and just stared as he read.

_Over the last few days there have been a lot of rumors going around. I should’ve said something earlier, I was meant to comment the day after it happened, but I’m ready to clear some things up. To answer the most asked question, the simple way of putting it is that Adam and I are no longer living together. A few weeks ago, I made one of the hardest decisions (and biggest mistakes) of my life. I know you all want me to explain myself and I know everybody wants to know the whole story, but all I can tell you now is that 98 degrees said it best back when I was a kid-_

_“It's the hardest thing I ever had to do to turn around and walk away pretending I don't love you”_

_I can’t and won’t say everything I’d like to say here. It’s just impossible for me to reveal any more than I have. I know many of you will hate me but there is only one person out there whose approval matters to me, only one person out there who matters enough to deserve this, and only one person out there who has ever inspired me enough to lay it all on the line like this, and this is for him-_

Adam felt his pulse pounding in his ears as he read the tweet which ended in a link to a YouTube video. “Oh my God,” he whispered and Sutan squealed in his ear.

“Click the link, Adam! Oh my God, click it!” he demanded and Adam complied, clicking the link that opened a YouTube video. He waited impatiently for it to load, pausing to allow it to load fully before pressing play.

The title alone made Adam’s eyes tear, though the beautiful song he recognized made him full on give up and burst into tears. He recognized the song from the pieces Tommy had worked on for the past year. He’d never heard it all together before, he’d never heard the changes Tommy had added, and he had never heard the title before.

_Another Day, Another Memory_

He knew immediately what the song was and what it meant to Tommy. It was amazing. Not only from the standpoint of what it stood for, but also the talent in composition that Tommy showed, the amount of emotion on his face, and most of all, how he never once missed a note, though Adam (and anybody who watched it) could see a few tears dripping off of Tommy’s bare eyelashes. Adam didn’t need to read the comments to read between the lines, or rather, the words to know the song’s _real_ title.


	22. Chapter 22

Tommy sat around all morning, watching the clock and checking his phone. Adam hadn’t called. It was only a few hours before they signed the papers to annul their marriage, he’d made his grand gesture in the middle of the night, and Adam hadn’t called.

What if he hadn’t seen it? What if he was just too busy to have checked twitter? Surely someone would’ve texted him right? What if they all thought everybody else had so they didn’t bother? 

What if he’d seen it and it didn’t change anything?

By ten-thirty, Tommy couldn’t take it anymore. He was in the middle of having breakfast with Lisa and the twins when he just stood up. “I’m- I’ve got to go,” he said, rushing to drop his bowl in the sink. “Thanks for breakfast, I’m sorry I can’t help clean up-“ 

Lisa cut off his rambling with a smile. “Go, TommyJoe,” she said and Tommy gave her a brave smile. “For what it’s worth, good luck,” she offered with a meaningful look.

Tommy just smiled gratefully. “Thanks,” he said, kissing her cheek, then leaning down to kiss Beatrix’s head while he was at it, before darting out, rushing to get a jacket, some shoes, and his keys before rushing out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy entered the code into the gate before driving up to Adam’s house. He really wondered what he would do if Adam told him ‘aww it was sweet, let’s go get divorced!’ like it was nothing. Crying seemed like a good option for that situation, if Tommy was honest. Crying and maybe hanging himself.

Tommy got out and walked up to the door, only to hear voices as he raised his fist. He hadn’t seen another car so the voices confused him. When he rang the bell, he waited. He heard footsteps thumping towards the door that didn’t sound like Adam’s, which confused him more. Plus, making a heartfelt declaration of ‘please GOD don’t divorce me!’ wasn’t going to be easy with an audience.

The door flew open and Tommy was more than a little shocked to see Sutan standing there. “You know, of all the people to open this door, I really didn’t expect you,” he said and Sutan just squeaked, throwing himself at Tommy. Logistically, it was a miracle they didn’t both get pitched down the stairs, but Tommy was more terrified of _Sutan_ witnessing his plea for their marriage. He’d never live it down.

“Oh my God, TommyJoe,” he hissed. “I’m going to go now. Adam was gonna take me home but I’ll fucking walk, whatever, but you get in there and you do the hard part because that dumb shit is refusing to stop watching your sappy little song and _do_ something about it,” he whispered.

Tommy smiled softly. “He liked my song?”

Sutan rolled his eyes. “The song is titled ‘A-D-A-M’ and you wrote it and said he inspired it, it could _suck_ ass and he would still love it.”

Tommy sighed happily. “I have this, right?” he asked softly and Sutan just rolled his eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” he said fondly, kissing his cheek before rushing down the stairs. Tommy took a breath and sighed then walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“Sutan? Who was it?” Tommy’s heart clenched as he heard Adam’s voice. It had been weeks since he spoke to him and he didn’t realize how much he’d missed hearing him speak. That had to mean something right there.

Tommy walked into the living room and paused as he saw Adam sitting on the couch with his laptop in his lap. “Hi,” he said softly and Adam’s head jerked up, eyes widening. Tommy felt like someone squeezed his heart in his chest as he saw the tears still drying on Adam’s face.

“Tommy!” he gasped, then ducked his head wiping at his cheeks furiously, pressing his palms into his eyes. “Um, hi,” he said softly, putting his laptop aside to stand.

Tommy walked over. “Hi,” he said again, offering Adam a small smile. “Why are you crying?”

Adam just bit his lip and let out a soft laugh. “Because your song is beautiful,” he said, sniffling some. “I’ve watched it about two-hundred times already,” he admitted and Tommy just smiled. “It’s so amazing,” he gushed, tugging at his own fingers awkwardly.

Tommy just shook his head. “I was so stupid,” he said in a rush and Adam cut him off, shaking his head.

“No, I was, Tommy-“

“I should’ve told you from the start-“

“I don’t want to sign the annulment papers.”

“I’m in love with you.”

They both stared at each other with wide eyes and bright smiles. Tommy bit his lip, fighting a massive smile. “You want to stay married?” he asked and Adam nodded, beaming wetly.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m in love with you too, have been for longer than I’ve known,” he spat out, almost as if the words were fighting to get out as fast as possible.

Tommy just laughed softly. “Adam,” he breathed, then rushed the last few steps, throwing himself into Adam’s arms as he tucked his face into Adam’s chest. He sighed happily as Adam’s arms quickly curled around him, holding him close.

“Tommy, I love you, oh God,” he breathed, pressing his face into Tommy’s hair. 

Tommy looked up, beaming. “I love you too,” he said softly, then pushed up, closing the distance to kiss Adam softly, kissing him slowly and sweetly. He full on giggled when they parted. “Please, can we not get divorced?” he asked and Adam nodded, sighing.

“But we still need to talk,” he said, giving Tommy a look. “There’s still stuff we have to discuss, I mean- this is out of my realm of experience altogether now.”

Tommy smiled, nodding as he pulled away. “Then let’s talk. About everything. Anything. I just want it all out because I want this to work, Adam. You can’t imagine how much I want this to work,” he said, shaking his head.

Adam just sighed, pulling Tommy’s hands up to his lips to kiss. “Oh trust me, I can,” he replied, then nodded. “Alright, let’s talk,” he said, tugging Tommy over to sit on the couch beside him. “What first?”

Tommy smiled, lacing their fingers together as he crossed his legs and faced Adam, who did the same, knees touching as they faced each other. “Most pressing matter, I want to stay married,” he said seriously. “I didn’t ever really want the annulment. I mean, at first it was something I wanted but by the time we got the news it was possible I was so upset I thought I was going to cry in front of everybody,” he admitted.

Adam sighed. “Everybody told me that,” he admitted and Tommy shot him a look. “What?! Sure, I was stupid but you could’ve said something too, you know,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t want to keep you from being really happy. I mean, sure I’m cute and all, but I was convinced it wasn’t worth losing you completely to be with you and then have you meet somebody you liked more later,” he said and Adam smiled.

“I was convinced that if you loved me, you would tell me. I thought people were just seeing what they wanted to see when they told me you were crazy for me. I mean, really, you’re straight,” he pointed out. “You don’t usually have someone heterosexual for thirty years then magically fall in love with their best friend of the same gender,” he stressed.

Tommy sighed. “Well… it is true, I’ve been straight my whole life, but I didn’t plan on falling for you,” he said, shrugging. “And honestly, I must not be that straight,” he admitted bashfully. “Not like I don’t like boys all over me sometimes,” he said and Adam snickered.

“Big difference to have guys kissing you and touching you and you enjoying that than being gay, baby,” he said playing with Tommy’s fingers. “It’s just liking the attention.”

Tommy ducked his head, but not before Adam saw an adorable pink color spreading across his cheeks and nose. “Trust me, dude… it’s not just liking attention,” he said, then mumbled something. “Youmumeha”

“What, I didn’t hear-“ Adam started and Tommy cut him off, blushing and rolling his eyes.

“I said you make me hard,” he said, then fell over against the back of the couch, pressing his red face into the cushions.

Adam laughed in amusement at Tommy’s face. “Tommy, that’s generally a good thing. Especially if we’re serious about this being married for real, thing,” he said and Tommy glared. “What?” he asked, snickering.

“Good thing or not, I don’t exactly _enjoy_ having to inform someone that ‘oh yeah, I find myself sexually attracted to you sometimes, so it’s all good’ you know?” he said, rolling his eyes.

Adam smiled brightly and leaned in, kissing Tommy’s annoyed pout. “Tommy, I must inform you that I find myself sexually attracted to you sometimes- no, a lot of the time,” he said with as straight of a face as he could muster, only to dissolve into giggles at the unamused look Tommy gave him. “You make me hard to,” he admitted through a laugh, only to squeak when Tommy lunged forward, shoving him onto his back.

“Oh my God, shut up!” Tommy whined, then kissed him, shutting him up as effectively as he could, bracing himself over Adam with his legs tangled with Adams and his hands on the back and arm of the couch over Adam’s head. Adam just laughed when Tommy pulled away to breath.

“But it’s only the truth, TommyJoe, and I can’t _lie_ to you,” he teased and Tommy groaned, letting his forehead fall to drop against Adam’s chin. Adam just kissed his hair, wrapping his arms around Tommy to tug him down on his chest.

Tommy lifted his head with a small smile. “You’re insane, dude,” he said, then smiled, sliding his fingers through Adam’s hair. “I love you so much,” he admitted softly, shaking his head slightly. “So much.” His smile slid off his face as he looked into Adam’s eyes, hand still absently plucking at his hair. “I have no clue what I’d have done if you’d told me you didn’t want me when I walked in here,” he whispered with vacant fear in his eyes.

Adam just bit his lip, feeling a lump settling in his throat. “Tommy,” he whispered, only to be cut off as Tommy cupped his jaw and kissed him suddenly, pouring his heart into the kiss. Adam just crushed his eyes shut and curled his arms around Tommy, one hand fisted in his shirt, the other cradling the back of his head as he kissed him, both of them nearly frantic as the other to chase away the lingering fears they had shared at the thought of losing the other.

Tommy broke the kiss, panting as he shook. “All morning I was terrified,” he admitted in a rush. “I posted the song last night and all morning I’ve been waiting for you to call me or just- anything. You never called and I was so sure it meant you didn’t want me or you didn’t like your song or you didn’t want to hurt my feelings by calling me a sappy bastard and then divorce me this afternoon without any thought and I was so scared. I just- I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just- I had to come here and get your reaction. I didn’t even know what I’d have done if you had not cared. I walked up to the door panicking because what if-“ he swallowed and Adam felt his throat once again closing as he watched Tommy’s clench his eyes shut to hide his emotions. “What if you didn’t want me. What if- what if you didn’t love me and I couldn’t stop you from signing the papers and- And what was I going to do if you didn’t want me-“ He squeaked and Adam felt his heart pounding as he saw Tommy’s lip trembling.

“Shhh, no,” Adam said, curling his arms around Tommy. He sat up, pushing Tommy with him. He pulled Tommy against his chest as Tommy sat on his knees in front of him. “Shhh, don’t think about it. I’m sorry,” he said and Tommy’s arms tightened around his neck. Adam held him as close as possible. “I didn’t see it until literally about two hours ago,” he admitted. “Sutan called me while I was doing my yoga and he made me watch it then he rushed over and we both sat there crying like little girls over how amazingly romantic it was and I didn’t want to call you so early because you were probably asleep and I was still crying like a fucking girl and didn’t want to be sappy and emotional for a serious conversation-“ He pulled back, tipping Tommy’s chin up so he could look into his eyes. “I am so sorry I scared you,” he said and Tommy just sniffled, smiling. His eyes were wet but he’d managed to hold in his tears. “You are so beautiful,” Adam said, smiling happily. “And you are the sweetest man I’ve ever met. And that was the most romantic thing anybody has ever done for me.” He pecked Tommy’s lips. “And I love you so much.” He leaned their heads together. “Never doubt how much you mean to me, TommyJoe. The _only_ reason I was going to divorce you is because I honestly believed you deserved more that what I can give you and deserved better than me.”

Tommy just shook his head slightly, kissing Adam softly. “There _isn’t_ any better than you, Adam. You are the most amazing human being I’ve ever met. Ever,” he stressed, gazing into Adam’s beautiful eyes, which were bright blue as he smiled. “Nobody deserves _you_ , how could you think I deserve better than you? You have the biggest heart, the kindest soul, and the best personality of anybody I’ve met. I still don’t think you’re human sometimes because humans have flaws,” he said smiling adoringly at Adam. “And you’re flawless.”

Adam smiled. “Aww, Glitterbaby, the amount of stupidity I’ve exhibited lately is clearly proof I do, in fact, have flaws,” he said and Tommy laughed softly. “Well, we can just agree to disagree on what you deserve. All I know is that nearly letting you go is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Tommy just smiled widely, curling his fingers into Adam’s, tugging Adam’s arms around him. “You didn’t though. I grew some balls and saved us both a lot of heartache,” he said smugly.

Adam just shot him a look, leaning in to kiss him sweetly. “Oh well, you can be smug, you did something unnaturally sweet and romantic for me. I don’t even care who calls us idiots. I’ve got the best husband ever,” he said and Tommy beamed.

“ _Husband_ ,” he stressed and Adam nodded, kissing him tenderly.

“ _Husband_.”


	23. Chapter 23

As soon as they called Lane to tell her to tear up the annulment papers, she informed them that she had expected that after Tommy’s stunt, then informed Adam that, because she expected it, she’d already set them up with an interview that night.

Adam gaped. “Hey! We’re having a really emotional day! We can’t do an interview already!” he argued.

“Tough shit, you two are giving me an ulcer. I’m not letting you annoying bastards off the hook for all this stress,” she complained. “You will meet me in three hours. If you’re gonna fuck, do it fast,” she said and Adam gaped.

“Excuse me, emotional morning, not a plotted porno!” he said and Tommy looked up with a curiously cocked eyebrow. Adam rolled his eyes. “Lane, I hate you, Tommy doesn’t say it but he hates you to. I hope you get a really bad dye job and all your hair turns orange,” he said, then hung up, going to flop down on the couch with a dramatic pout.

Tommy snickered. “What is it?” he asked, looking at Adam curiously. “And what was that about a porno?” he asked and Adam rolled his eyes.

“We’ve got an interview tonight because Lane decided after your ‘stunt’, as she puts it, that we’d stay together and it was time to give answers. And she said we’ve only got three hours so ‘fuck fast’ were her words,” he said.

Tommy laughed, doubling over. “Oh God, I love her,” he said, then leaned over against Adam when he sat down. “Not the worst idea ever,” he teased, kissing Adam sweetly.

Adam snorted, nibbling on his lip teasingly. “Yeah, you are aware how long it takes me to get ready, right? At this rate, I should probably go get in the shower straight off. Besides, you don’t have any clothes here, you have to go all the way to Monte’s to get dressed,” he added.

Tommy grinned. “True. Besides, once I’ve got you naked I want enough time to taste every inch of your body,” he said with a teasing peck to the lips.

Adam whimpered, shivering at the idea. “You don’t get to _say_ stuff like that when I can’t make you naked!” he complained, pouting dramatically at Tommy.

Tommy just laughed and leaned in to press a playful kiss to Adam’s poked out lip, biting it playfully when Adam gasped. “Alright, I’ll go back to Monte’s, get ready, beg Monte to pack for me, we’ll go do the interview thing, then tonight I’ll get everything together and tomorrow I’ll move back in,” he suggested and Adam beamed.

“Yay,” he said, kissing him again. “Alright, go before I keep you,” he said, earning a bright smile. He stood and walked Tommy out, only stopping him for kisses about four times before Tommy finally pulled away and laughed.

“I love you, I’ll see you soon,” Tommy said, then walked out, shutting the door in pouty Adam’s face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When they met, Lane accosted them, dragging Tommy along before Adam could even get a kiss, which made them both glare at her. “You, get your story together.” She turned to Adam. “You, how much of his story do you know?”

Tommy smiled. “Our story,” he said, grabbing Adam’s hand. “Is going to be close to everybody’s mixes of stories. Adam somehow got it in his head that I couldn’t be happy with him, cause he really did think that,” he said and Adam nodded sheepishly. “Only he thought it was cause I don’t like dick,” he said and Lane snorted. “And we’re telling the story that he drunkenly told Sutan, about how I really like babies and I can’t reproduce with a dude,” he said and Lane gave him a horrified look.

“Why would anybody have your baby anyways?!” she asked. “You would ruin a child-“

“Hey!” Tommy said, looking offended. “I spent the last few weeks playing with little kids and didn’t ruin a single mind!”

Adam laughed. “Not the point, the point is, our story is going to be that we got married and THEN I thought about the whole ‘Tommy deserves a wife and kids’ and we had a big fight where I said it was because I didn’t think he really loved me, no matter what he said,” he explained.

Tommy nodded. “And I was so upset I just went with it and told him I don’t really love him and moved out and then after a few weeks I realized it was stupid of me to let him get rid of me, so I did something sappy to get him back and it’s happily ever after, the end,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

She just looked. “Let me guess, Princess Tommy?”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was a web show they were slotted for, but it was still going to be viewable to thousands, so Adam and Tommy were nervous to say the least. They sat together on a couch, which at least gave them the ability to sit side by side and hold hands. Not only did it look good, but Tommy really needed the strength Adam’s big, warm hand in his gave him. 

“Hi guys!” They looked up and saw a man walking over. He shook their hands. “I’m Carl, my co-host Lindsay will be here in a second, she’s getting her hair fluffed,” he said. “We were thrilled you offered to give us this _sudden_ of an interview,” he gushed.

Adam hummed. “Well it’s not airing for a few days, right?” he asked and the guy nodded.

“Of course not. We wouldn’t want it to seem like last night was a publicity stunt,” he said and Tommy narrowed his eyes at the idea of his pouring his heart out being just for publicity.

“Dude, that’s so not cool,” he said and the guy shrugged.

A girl in heels walked out in a rush. “Holy shit, we were so grateful for this interview!” she said in a rush, shaking their hands. “Seriously, this will put our ratings through the roof!”

“Well, we’re just glad to get everything out. We’ve got a lot of really confused fans and the last thing we need are more vicious rumors,” Adam said and Tommy nodded.

“Great!” Carl said. “Well, we’ll do this on the fly but if you have anything you don’t want to answer we’ll just edit it out,” he said and Adam nodded.

Lindsay went to sit in her spot and then tossed her hair back. “Sweet, whenever we get signaled we’ll begin,” she said and Adam leaned over to whisper to Tommy.

“We’ll be okay,” he said and Tommy gave him a brave smile.

“I know,” he said, then pecked Adam’s lips as lightly as possible, afraid of smudging their lipstick and lip gloss to do more. “I love you so it’s all worth it,” he whispered.

Adam just smiled brightly, nodding. “Love you too,” he said, bumping their heads together affectionately, only to sit up straight when they got their cues that they were about to start.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam sighed heavily, flopping down right in the middle of the floor as he dropped the last box. “That’s it, I refuse. No more, Monte, I beg of you!” he whined.

Tommy smiled brightly, dropping his box beside Adam’s. “We’ve got a few more trips to make and you’re the strongest,” he chastised. He grabbed Adam’s hand and tugged. “Up, baby!” he commanded and Adam whined dramatically, but stood up, pouting.

“I hate you,” he said and Tommy just grinned.

“No you don’t,” he teased, standing on his toes to kiss Adam sweetly.

Adam whined through his nose and nodded. “Totally do,” he argued petulantly.

Tommy just smirked, tugging Adam into a kiss. “The faster we’ve got all the boxes inside, the faster we can kick everybody out and make out on the couch while we’re supposed to be unpacking,” he said in a low voice and Adam hummed, appearing to think about it. “Oh come on, I’m talking sneaky straying hands and everything,” Tommy said and Adam laughed.

“Alright, totally down for that,” he said, kissing Tommy with a smack before walking past him to go get more boxes. Tommy just smiled, shaking his head as he watched Adam go.

 _God I love him_ , was the only thought in his head.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tommy smiled, turning to look at Adam as they sat curled up side by side watching television. “Adam,” he said softly and Adam turned.

“Yeah, baby?”

Tommy bit his lip. “You know, when I was putting some things in your bedroom-“

“Our bedroom,” Adam corrected and Tommy smiled sweetly.

“Our bedroom,” he allowed, then bit his lip again. “I found something,” he said, then dug in his pocket and pulled out his wedding ring. Adam looked at it with a soft smile. “And I was wondering…” He turned his other hand over and exposed Adam’s in it. He turned Adam’s right hand and placed his ring in it, then grabbed Adam’s left. “Adam Mitchel Lambert,” he said, holding Adam’s ring over his fingertip, smiling at the surprised but delighted smile on Adam’s face. “Will you marry me? Again? For our anniversary?” he added.

Adam gave him a loving smile then looked into Tommy’s eyes. “Yes.” Tommy smiled and slid Adam’s fingers back onto his finger where it belonged. Adam took Tommy’s hand and held it, pressing his lips to Tommy’s palm. “Will you, TommyJoe, marry me?” he asked, eyes full of devotion. “On a beach at sunset?” he asked and Tommy grinned, nodding.

“I’d marry you anywhere,” he said, watching as Adam slid his ring onto his finger. Tommy lifted his eyes and saw so much love in Adam’s eyes that he couldn’t help himself. “God, Adam,” he breathed, pushing forward to kiss Adam fiercely. Adam groaned, catching Tommy in his arms, holding him tight enough that his fingers were surely making white marks on his skin. Tommy moaned softly as Adam gave him so much with his kiss. He felt like his skin was burning everywhere Adam touched him. It was the most delicious torture. “Adam, I want you,” he breathed, panting for breath already.

Adam pulled away, eyes wide but full of desire. “Are you sure?”

Tommy nodded, smirking. “You have no idea,” he said, snagging Adam’s bottom lip between his teeth, flicking his tongue across it teasingly. “Please, Adam-“

“God, I’ve wanted you for so long,” Adam said, a slightly desperate note to his voice as his lips strayed to Tommy’s throat.

Tommy moaned and pulled away, standing. Adam gave him a slightly panicked look and he just smirked, grabbing his hand. “C’mon, not doing this on the couch,” he said and Adam smiled and stood. Tommy looked up at Adam, tilting his head back for a kiss. Adam hummed as he tugged Tommy closer, kissing him until Tommy’s knees felt weak. “Seriously, upstairs,” he gasped, clinging to Adam’s arms as he walked backwards, gasping when Adam gave him a predatory look and tugged him into his arms, pinning him against the wall at the foot of the stairs for a scorching kiss, hands sneaking up Tommy’s shirt, touching skin that he’d yet to really be able to touch.

“Tommy, God,” he groaned, fingers catching on Tommy’s belt loops.

Tommy panted, gasping as Adam rocked into him, thigh pressing between Tommy’s legs. “Upstairs, now,” he demanded, pushing Adam far enough away to start up the stairs, holding Adam’s hand behind him to tug him along.

When they got upstairs to their bedroom, Tommy turned to Adam, kissing him as he slid his hands under Adam’s shirt, sliding his hands up Adam’s sides, taking the shirt with him. Adam broke the kiss long enough to hold up his arms for Tommy to get the shirt off. Tommy pushed it up, then whined when he was on his toes as best he could get and he couldn’t reach any farther. “Adaaaaaaam,” he whined and Adam chuckled, tugging it the rest of the way off his arms before dropping it. “Tall bastard,” Tommy grumbled, only to stop Adam’s laughter by kissing him. He moaned, hands sliding down Adam’s chest and around to his back, learning Adam’s soft skin anywhere he could reach.

Adam smiled when he pulled back. “Gimme a second. I wanna get everything before I get too involved with making you naked and really don’t want to stop touching you,” he said, smiling down as Tommy trailed his fingers down Adam’s sides.

Tommy just nodded, then turned to peel off his socks before he ended up naked and still wearing socks like a massive idiot. When he straightened up, he froze as a warm body pressed against him, large hands sliding around his middle. “Ung,” he moaned, pressing back against the hardness digging into his lower back. “Adam,” he breathed.

Adam’s lips pressed against the side of his neck, making him tilt his head to give him more access. “Up,” he breathed against Tommy’s ear and Tommy took a moment before realizing what Adam wanted. He held up his arms, allowing Adam to tug off his shirt. He saw the black fabric drop to the floor out of the corner of his eye but didn’t care as those warm, large, soothing hands came back, one on his stomach and the other splayed across his chest. He whimpered as Adam’s bare chest and stomach pressed against his back. Adam moaned softly, hands caressing Tommy’s skin. “So pretty,” Adam whispered, breath tickling Tommy’s ear. Tommy tilted his head back, moaning as Adam caught a piercing between his teeth, tugging slightly before moving down Tommy’s neck, tasting his pale skin. Tommy let his head drop back forward as Adam kissed across his shoulder, holding him as close as possible, subtly rocking against Tommy as he held him. “Fucking perfect,” Adam whispered into his hair, one arm slung across Tommy’s chest to hold him back as the other slid down to cup him through his pants.

Tommy whined softly, eyes fluttering shut. He could feel Adam’s head tipped against the back of his as he worked Tommy’s pants open, still holding him close with the arm across his chest. “A-Adam,” he gasped out, arching his head back as Adam’s fingers slid into his shorts, teasing his length. He moaned but caught Adam’s wrist. “Let me,” he said breathlessly, eyes still shut as he reluctantly pulled away from Adam’s hold, turning to face him. He looked up into Adam’s hungry eyes and watched Adam’s eyes trail down his chest. He bit his lip to keep from whimpering at the _desire_ in Adam’s eyes as he slowly shimmied out of his jeans, pushing them down his legs until he could step out, watching Adam’s ravenous expression the entire time. Adam looked up and caught his eye, stepping forward smoothly to catch Tommy in a kiss. 

“So beautiful,” Adam whispered against his lips, curling his large hands around Tommy’s narrow hips. Tommy took a shaky breath when Adam broke the kiss and kissed down his jaw, down his throat, and then proceeded to lean down far enough to kiss down his chest, sidetracking to lap at a nipple, before sliding almost gracefully to his knees. He held Tommy by a hand around his waist, the other sliding down over his ass to the back of his thigh as he kissed down his stomach. He gave a teasing lick along Tommy’s erection before looking up at him. 

“Fuck,” Tommy gasped, sliding his hand along Adam’s jaw, leaning down to kiss Adam as he curled his arms around Adam’s neck. “I love you,” he whispered, shoving his fingers through Adam’s hair as he pushed his head back far enough that he could lean down and kiss him harder.

Adam moaned, sliding both hands up Tommy’s legs, pausing to palm at his ass, then curl around his waist before sliding back to the backs of his thighs. “Hold on, baby,” he whispered and Tommy frowned, only to flail and yelp slightly when Adam stood and _lifted_ Tommy with him, holding him by the backs of his thighs.

“Adam!” he squeaked, quickly wrapping his legs around Adam, holding tight around his shoulders as Adam stood straight. “Jesus Christ, warn a guy,” he chastised and Adam just smiled, catching his lips in a kiss. Adam’s belt was digging into Tommy’s legs, the denim rough against his inner thighs, but otherwise, there was something ridiculously hot about being just picked up and held while Adam kissed him as slowly and languidly as he’d possibly ever been kissed. “Adam,” he gasped and Adam moaned.

“Don’t scream, I’m dropping you on the bed,” he warned, then walked the few feet to the bed, letting Tommy fall to the mattress, bouncing slightly when he landed.

Tommy propped up on his elbows, watching as Adam quickly undid his belt and jeans, shoving them down his long, muscular legs. “Nnnng,” Tommy moaned helplessly as he looked up and down Adam’s naked body. He saw Adam smirk and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t be held accountable for the unintelligible noises of lust he made when his husband was literally the hottest thing he’d ever seen. He wiggled his way up to the head of the bed, sighing when Adam kicked his jeans to the side, stepping out of them. “I could die happy right now,” he said and Adam laughed softly, crawling up the bed to him.

Adam caught his lips in a tiny kiss, smiling at him in amusement. “But we haven’t even made love yet,” he pointed out and Tommy felt an interesting combination of his heart and erection both jerking at the same time to that statement.

“Very true,” he said, then smiled happily as he kissed Adam teasingly. “I think we should fix that,” he whispered against Adam’s lips.

Adam smiled a tiny smile but the love and want in his eyes spoke of more happiness than his lips. He pushed Tommy back against the pillow as he kissed him slowly, hands braced on either side of Tommy’s hips as he knelt above him. Tommy moaned, curling one hand around Adam’s wrist and the other in the back of his hair, exploring his mouth more carefully than ever before. Adam moaned, pulling away to breath as he looked down at Tommy. He raised his hand to brush Tommy’s hair behind his ear, as he often did, fingertips ghosting along Tommy’s hairline. Tommy’s eyelashes fluttered as Adam accompanied the move with the most tender kiss Tommy had possibly ever received. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, baby?” he asked, pressing their foreheads together.

Tommy nodded, smiling when the motion moved Adam’s face as well, earning him an answering smile. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he breathed, kissing Adam softly. “I love you, Babyboy.”

Adam smiled a beautiful smile that made Tommy’s heart skip a beat. “Tommy,” he breathed, kissing him hard, seemingly unable to contain himself. Tommy groaned, his eyes rolling as Adam pushed him into the mattress, lowering his own body to rest between Tommy’s legs. Tommy couldn’t tell what was more erotic, the way Adam’s tongue was wrapped around his so dominantly, or the feeling of Adam’s thick erection pressed firmly against his inner thigh. Tommy was just getting used to the feeling of Adam subtly shifting to rub against his leg when Adam pulled way altogether all of a sudden, leaving him whining at the sudden loss of touch. He lifted his head and watched as Adam reached towards the end of the bed, grabbing a condom and lube. “I’m supposed to tell you all this stuff about how it’ll be easier if you lie on your stomach and make sure you really want to do this, but I really don’t think you need to hear it at this point,” he said and Tommy smiled, biting his lip.

“I don’t care what’s easier, I know you and I’d bet my left nut that you want me just like this,” Tommy said and Adam smirked, looking at the sight of Tommy on his back with his legs spread just for him. “And yeah, we’ve established that I really, _really_ want to do this,” he emphasized. “Really.”

Adam smirked, crawling wordlessly back into his spot between Tommy’s knees. He leaned over him and kissed him deeply. “One thing I love about how little you are,” he whispered, lips ghosting across Tommy’s as Adam’s hand slid up his inner thigh. “Is that it won’t be hard at all to be inside of you,” Tommy gasped as a cool, slippery finger circled his entrance. Adam continued, “filling you, all the way, hips against you,” Tommy’s fingers dug into Adam’s upper arm as the finger slid inside of him slowly as Adam spoke on, “your legs wrapped around my back,” Tommy moaned softly, adjusting to the feeling of intrusion. Adam smirked against his lips, “and I’ll be able to hold you against me so that I can reach your lips to kiss you while I’m making love to you.”

Tommy arched his back some, wiggling slightly at the strange yet somewhat pleasant feeling of Adam’s finger inside of him. “More, please,” he gasped, somewhat surprised at his own eagerness. Adam complied, carefully working a second finger into Tommy, sliding down his chest to lick and suck at Tommy’s nipple as he fucked him open with his fingers. Tommy was surprisingly okay with something inside of him, but when Adam curled his fingers, Tommy finally _really_ understood what the big deal was about. “Oh!” he shouted in surprised, blush spreading across his cheeks when he bit back a whine at the jolt of pleasure that startled him. Adam laughed against his ribs, then pulled back slightly, looking up at Tommy’s face as he curled his fingers again. Tommy moaned low in his chest, arching somewhat at the intense feeling. “Oh fuck, Adam,” he panted, whining when Adam did it again, somewhat amused at how Tommy reacted. “Please, fuck, more,” he asked and Adam nodded, kissing down his torso as he slowly and carefully slid in another finger, working Tommy open as gently as possible.

“Tell me if it hurts, okay? I’ll go as slow as you want, baby,” Adam said, kissing the ridge of his hip before scraping at the bone with his teeth in a teasing manner.

Tommy groaned as Adam took the head of his erection between his lips as he pressed three fingers into Tommy. The dull sting coupled with the feeling of Adam’s tongue flicking along his slit elicited a desperate whine from Tommy. “Oh please, Adam, fuck me,” he moaned.

Adam pulled off with a soft ‘pop’, looking up. “You sure you’re ready baby-“

“Yes, fuck,” Tommy moaned, trying to slide further onto Adam’s fingers. “In me.” Adam whined at the look on Tommy’s face and nodded, carefully pulling his fingers out of Tommy. Tommy whimpered at the loss but lifted onto his elbows, watching as Adam reached for a condom. He fumbled with slippery fingers on the packet and Tommy rolled his eyes, sitting up, legs still on either side of Adam. “That isn’t really necessary, Adam,” he chastised, plucking it from his fingers to toss down at the foot of the bed.

Adam raised an eyebrow. “It isn’t?” he asked and Tommy kissed him, legs hanging across Adam’s bent knees. 

“I know for a fact we’ve both been tested for the insurance checkup, I’ve been tested twice because last tattoo I got redone made the tour insurance want me checked again,” he said, then looked at Adam. “So unless you refrained from sharing something with the class, you haven’t had sex in over a year and you got tested long enough after the last time you had sex that anything would’ve shown up,” he said.

Adam smiled. “You trust me?” he asked, kissing Tommy softly. “I mean, you’re right, but seriously… you trust me enough?”

Tommy kissed him sweetly. “I trust you more than anything in this world, Adam. I wouldn’t be married to you if I didn’t.”

Adam just smiled, heart fluttering at Tommy’s proclamation. “Fuck, I love you,” he breathed, then kissed him, laying Tommy down once again as he kissed him hard. Tommy’s fingers twisted in his hair, kissing Adam for all he was worth. Adam moaned low in his chest when he felt Tommy’s erection slide against his stomach. “So hot, baby,” he panted, breaking the kiss to reach for the lube again. He quickly slicked up his length, pushing his fingers into Tommy once more to make sure he was okay.

“Oh fuck, yeah,” Tommy breathed, eyes fluttering shut. “Adam, please.”

Adam shifted, lowering his body between Tommy’s legs. “I love you, TommyJoe,” he whispered, kissing him sweetly. He looked into Tommy’s eyes and smirked. “Ready?” Tommy just growled.

“Teasing isn’t-“ The rest of whatever Tommy was planning on saying was lost in a moan as Adam carefully and slowly slid into him. He could feel Tommy tense for the last few inches and he winced at the look of pain that put a frown line between Tommy’s eyebrows. It felt _amazing_ but the look of pain on Tommy’s face was somewhat distracting from the pleasure. “Shhh, you’re okay,” he soothed, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s lips, just like he’d told him he’d be able to do.

Tommy nodded, biting on his lip. “Ow,” he breathed and Adam kissed him again. “I’m okay,” Tommy whispered and Adam knew he was lying. “You can move, it’s okay,” he said and Adam shook his head, fighting the part of him what was in heaven, the part that wanted to just _take_. He ran a soothing hand down Tommy’s body, stroking the outside of the leg that was hooked around him. He caught Tommy’s lips in a slow, sweet kiss, distracting him from the pain. As they kissed, Adam touched and stroked every bit of Tommy he could reach, slowly beginning the tiniest rocks he could manage, working up until Tommy finally noticed that Adam had distracted him from the pain until it was, for the most part, completely gone.

Adam smiled at the small gasp of wonder and kissed him wetly. “Okay?” he asked and Tommy nodded, arching back.

“Yeah, move, please,” he gasped and Adam slid out, slowly thrusting back into him. He felt Tommy tense and whine and smirked, knowing he’d gotten it right. Tommy wrapped his legs higher around Adam’s back, moaning as Adam’s slow, amazing thrust became faster and harder. He cried out when Adam shifted up, striking him differently. Adam kissed along his throat, sliding his hands up Tommy’s sides, along his arms, pushing them up over his head before lacing their fingers together against the pillows.

Tommy lost himself in the feeling of Adam in him, on him, and completely surrounding him. He could only see Adam. All he could taste was Adam’s lips and his skin. All he could feel against every inch of him was Adam. The only smell that filled his breaths was hot, sweaty skin, sex, and the smell of Adam’s hair products. Tommy reached a point that when he opened his eyes, the only thing he could see was the beauty of Adam’s gray-blue eyes completely blown, pupils dilated with lust. He could hear his own voice speaking Adam’s name, but it wasn’t entirely with his permission.

“Oh God, Tommy,” Adam panted, losing himself in the feeling of his husband’s body. He reached between them, lifting himself to hold his weight on one hand, planted above Tommy’s shoulder, as his thrusts reached a new level. Tommy whined when Adam wrapped a large, hot hand around his erection, stroking him in a frantic race to make Tommy see stars before he came.

Tommy arched his back, eyes flying open as the fire building in his belly reached a breaking point. His eye’s fluttered shut when his orgasm struck, starting all the way from his toes and fingers as it washed over him like crashing wave. “A-Adam- AH!” he cried out, blunt nails digging into Adam’s shoulder blades as he came. Adam whined and then cried out hoarsely as he gave up trying to hold off, letting himself drop over the edge since Tommy was there already. He groaned hoarsely as he filled Tommy in a way nobody ever had, or ever would, before collapsing half on top of his spent husband.

Tommy groaned lifting a heavy hand to curl around the back of Adam’s head, stroking thick, black hair affectionately. “Fuck,” he sighed and Adam groaned against his shoulder as a reply. 

“I think I’m dead,” Adam mumbled, voice muffled against Tommy’s skin.

Tommy giggled, shaking his head as he turned to kiss the side of Adam’s head. “Me too, Babyboy,” he said and Adam lifted his head, smiling at him with wide, bright, affectionate eyes.

“I love when you call me that,” he admitted and Tommy smiled, turning to catch his lips in a kiss. Tommy gasped, whimpering when Adam lifted off and carefully slid out of his body. Adam cringed. “Sorry baby.”

Tommy just sighed, letting his head fall back. “Well that’s weird,” he said and Adam laughed softly, leaning forward to rest his head on Tommy’s middle as his shoulders shook. Tommy wiggled experimentally and made an appraising noise. “Anybody told you that you have a pretty epic dick?” he asked and Adam sat back on his knees, fully laughing. Tommy smiled at him. “I’m serious,” he said and Adam just rolled his eyes, positively glowing as he laughed.

“You’re too much, TommyJoe,” he said, crawling forward to kiss Tommy deeply and slowly, balanced above him. When the kiss came to an end, Adam sighed happily. “I’ll be right back,” he said, sliding off of the bed to go and get a towel to clean up with.

Tommy snorted. “You better be,” he said, then flung an arm over his eyes. “I’m seriously going to cuddle the fuck out of you, dude,” he said and Adam laughed again as he disappeared into the bathroom, about as happy as he could ever remember being.

Tommy just lifted the arm over his face and smirked vacantly as he watched Adam’s ass as he walked out of the room, grinning when he let his head flop back to the pillows.


	24. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, my friends, is the end!

Tommy smiled from his spot letting Sutan paint his toes as they watched Adam’s latest interview on TV. “God he looks good in that jacket,” Tommy said and Sutan snorted.

“Yeah, I can just see your brain imagining him _out_ of that jacket,” he chastised and Tommy grinned, only to turn when he heard his name.

“But you’re a major player in the constant battle for gay rights in the media eye, am I correct? You’re one of the small amount of openly gay celebrities to have such a media targeted marriage. Your husband is, Tommy Ratliff, right?” the interviewer, Cassie, asked and her co-host nodded. 

Adam smiled a shy smile. “Yeah, Tommy is the bassist in my band,” he said. “And I don’t know, I know it’s my place sort of to be a good visualization for the battle for gay rights, but at the same time I don’t think I _am_ a good representation of a gay man to middle America,” he said, laughing. “I mean, what’s it going to help the people uncomfortable or unsure with the idea of giving gays and lesbians the rights they deserve when the person you’re looking at is a big, flamboyant guy wearing makeup and fingernail polish and sort of Goth-rock looking clothes, you know?” he said, making a face. “I mean, I think the fact I’m a celebrity that’s married at all is about as good of an example as I’m giving for anybody,” he said pointedly. 

“And I know there have to be tons of gay guys out there that look at me and think ‘oh my God’-“ Adam made a cheesy frustrated face, which made the interviewers laugh. “Because they’re normal everyday guys with a closet full of slack and ties, who drive like… a tan sedan and work in an office and just happen to come home every night to another guy, not a wife,” he said, then giggled. “And here I am, their representation as a flamboyant, wild haired, wild makeup, and the leather jackets and gloves and glitter and I drive a sports car and the husband I’m going home to is a tattooed and pierced rock star…” he trailed off as they laughed with him. “And I just don’t think it’s right for people to see me and think I’m the ‘example’ of a gay man.”

“Now you mentioned the husband you go home to,” she stared and Adam nodded. “Are you going home to him? Just recently there were rumors you were getting a divorce and it was all really quiet and speculative for a while,” she said.

Adam nodded, cringing. “Yes, it is ‘go home to’,” he said, then gave his best ‘I’m a sweet baby’ smile. “What can I say, I messed up,” he said, shrugging. “For a few weeks, we weren’t together,” he admitted. “I was stupid and I said and did things and I believe completely irrational things and Tommy left me,” he said, earning sympathetic ‘aww’s. “But, after he left me and we were having the papers for an annulment drawn, since we can’t divorce because of where we married, we both were miserable,” he said. “I didn’t want to lose him and he didn’t want to lose me but I thought I was doing the right thing.” Adam smiled. “Tommy, however, grew some brains and then there was this big, public grand gesture-“

“He wrote you a song, right?” Cassie asked and Adam nodded, positively beaming.

“He’d been working on a song he never could get write for the last year or so and I guess leaving me gave him the inspiration for it and he finished it and posted it publically and it was so beautiful and he’s a pretty private guy so I knew that I was stupid if I thought he’d be happier if he was free of me, so he moved back in and… yeah, it’s all great,” he said, smiling brightly.

She shook her head, smiling. “Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said. “Now what was it you got in your head that made you think he would be happier if he was free of you?” she asked.

Tommy snorted and Sutan grinned. “He’s gonna tell her,” he said and Tommy groaned.

“I know, that idiot is so fucking open,” he said, then smiled. “Seriously, look at his smile though,” he said, sighing. “God I’m an idiot for not telling that man I loved him every day since I met him,” he said and Sutan just sighed.

“Fucking lucky whore,” he said and Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Adam has you so now nobody else can have you,” he said, viciously grabbing his other foot to paint his toes on it. “I want a sweet boy who writes me songs when I’m stupid,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Well, I think I’ve got a cousin or two,” he teased but Sutan shushed him as Adam started talking.

Adam cringed. “Well… when we got married we’d only been together a few months and we were so in love and so happy and it seemed like a great idea and it stayed that way,” he clarified. “We fought a little but all in all we were so happy and in love every second up until we fought that last time,” he said. “But I mean… I started thinking about what we’d done about halfway through tour,” he explained. “I mean, before me Tommy was straight, and I mean… I’ve seen him with girls and I’ve seen him around kids and I got to thinking about how he’d be an amazing dad and I just…” he blushed. “I kind of got it in my head he’d be happier with a woman he could settle down and have a family with and all of that. And I don’t know what it was, but I _really_ got it in my head that he’d _never_ truly be happy since I can’t give him a kid, you know?” He shrugged. “I just wanted him to have everything. I felt like being with me was a mistake and he could be happier with a woman and that I’d give everything for him to be happiest and if it meant not having him, it was still better than make him live with a husband instead of the wife he deserved,” he said, then made an embarrassed face. “I never said I was logical,” he pointed out.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Aww that’s even romantically stupid,” she said and Adam laughed.

Tommy chuckled. “If only it were true. The truth is sooo much less romantic and just stupid,” he said.

Sutan hummed. “Besides, you two are gonna end up adopting about a billion babies, I can see it already,” he said and Tommy made a face.

“Nah, maybe when we’re old,” he said and Sutan snorted. “Seriously, we’re in our thirties and just really getting started. Adam’s gonna be at least forty-five before he slows down, I’m positive, you know? We can think about kids then.”

Sutan hummed. “Suuure,” he said then looked up when Adam’s voice came back louder.

“Yeah, we’ll have been married a year next week,” he said, smiling. “After the whole ‘stupid Adam’ thing we’ve decided we’re going to celebrate with a vow renewal,” he said and the women ‘awww’ed until Sutan was laughing at them. “I mean, usually you do it a lot later in your marriage, and we already eloped, then had a wedding for ceremonial purposes, so it’s kind of tacky but the thing is after the drama of nearly splitting up and how rushed it all was before… it just feels right,” he said with a shy smile and shrug.

Tommy snickered. “Or it’s the first _real_ one… of the three… in one year,” he said, cringing. “We suck,” he said and Sutan grinned.

“This time it’ll be even more romantic to those of us who know the truth though. This time you guys are serious,” he said.

Tommy sighed. “Hell yeah. This time when I tell him I want to spend the rest of my life with him, it’s not a game, it’s real.”

Sutan hummed. “Just sucks I don’t have any reason to wear a pretty dress this time,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Wear a bikini, it’s at the beach,” he said and Sutan rolled his eyes.

“Don’t joke, I’ll do it,” he threatened.

Tommy shot him a look. “Adam is wearing his annoying old grandpa beach outfit just to annoy me, I wouldn’t give two shits what bikini you wear when my husband is dressed like an old guy,” he said and Sutan laughed.

“The tacky aqua colored swim trunks?” he asked and Tommy nodded, cringing.

“And a floaty old ladies cover-up looking beach top thingy,” he said, groaning. “At least it’s a kinda sheer, low cut one so people can be distracted by his chest and can ignore the shorts,” he said.

Sutan hummed. “Adam does have a pretty nice chest,” he said and Tommy grinned.

“He’s been working out,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “His arms and chest are nice and solid,” he said, then looked down. “I’ve got like… the beginnings of man-boobs,” he said, pouting at his own body. “Maybe I should’ve been working out leading up to this. I’m wearing a tight tank top that’ll show my man-boobs and belly flub I’m getting,” he said. “God, thirty-one and I’m starting to get fat,” he said dramatically.

Sutan snorted. “No, you’re the same as ever, you’re just getting self-conscious because you’re married to a celebrity.” He looked up and grinned. “It happens.” He hummed, blowing on Tommy’s toes to dry them, ignoring the way he squirmed. “So, tank-top? I thought you melt in the sun,” he said and Tommy chuckled.

“It’s at sunset, I’ll live,” he said. He sighed. “Adam’s gonna be so beautiful,” he mused. “When the sun sets and it’s bright orange it always makes his eyes look as blue as they get and it makes his freckles stand out and like… the reddish blonde hairs on his arms fucking sparkle-“

“Eurgh, if you’re gonna write a sappy love poem warn a boy,” Sutan teased and Tommy grinned, ignoring his warm cheeks. “You two are so fucking ridiculous, I swear TommyJoe.” Tommy just smiled bashfully, turning back to watch the rest of Adam’s interview while Sutan started on a second coat.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The breeze coming off the ocean was cool, chilling the October evening. The sun’s dying rays bathed the beach in a lingering warmth, however, that staved off the chill. Tommy and Adam stood with their toes buried in the sand, framed by the sunset behind them as everybody they loved and cared for most in the world stood around watching them staring into each other’s eyes as the official, Danielle this time, read the sappy love poems she’d insisted on picking to describe Adam and Tommy. Tommy had visibly cringed at the idea but Adam refused to let Tommy bitch about it because it was _sweet_. Tommy just argued that his writing Adam a song had to be enough sappy between both of them for a good decade, which only made Adam laugh.

They had thought about buying new rings, better ones than the old ones, but instead, they decided to just have their initials engraved on each other’s rings rather than get new ones. When Danielle finished, Sutan jogged over (in a purple bikini) and handed them their rings. “And now, Adam and Tommy here are gonna do this whole ‘vow’ thing,” she joked and Adam giggled when Tommy made a face at her. “Adam, wanna go first?” she asked and Adam nodded, taking the ring.

He slid into onto Tommy’s finger, holding his hand between his hands. “You, TommyJoe Ratliff, are everything I could ever want and a billion times more,” he started and Tommy smiled. “When I first got to know you, it was a shock. I was so used to these calm, normal people or outrageously flamboyant queens,” he said and Sutan struck a pose just to get giggles. Adam laughed then continued. “But then there was you. You were this wild, crazy little metal head with all these ridiculously weird tattoos and you hated most of the things I loved most and loved things I couldn’t stand,” he said and Tommy grinned. “But the things that drew me to you were things like how open and honest you are and our shared love of music. Even if our general tastes were different, you had the dreams and visions that I’d had my whole life and you were willing to do whatever it took to help me share my music with the world. You and I both started learning things and discovering parts of life we’d never thought of together,” he said, then smiled brightly. “And this is all while we were just friends,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re beautiful, and amazing, and everything _anybody_ could ever want, but I feel in love with you because-“ Adam bit his lip to keep from smiling until his face hurt. “Because you stuck with me through everything. You are able to roll with the punches and still get up, dust off your leather pants, flip fate a pair, and jump right back in. You are just… amazing,” he said simply, shaking his head. “And I want to spend the rest of my life figuring out every tiny piece of amazing you have to offer.”

Danielle smiled. “Alright, Tommy?” she asked and Tommy gave a tiny little shy smile as he took the ring and turned to Adam. He looked up into his eyes and sighed weakly. He began to slide the ring on Adam’s hand, holding it between both of his.

He took a deep breath and let it out, shoulders heaving. “I just really fucking love you, dude,” he said and Adam laughed while everybody else snickered. “No joke, you totally stole my heart, turned me gay without me even _noticing_ , and I’m like… yours,” he said, smiling playfully. “But seriously, when I met you, you were like a peacock sort of,” he said and Adam raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Tommy gave him a small, secretive smile. “You were big and loud and showy and flashy and nobody could help looking at everything you did, like it or not. It was like I was signing up to play music for a big, glittery alien,” he said and Adam gave him a disbelieving chuckle. Tommy grinned. “But then I got to know you and despite all the dramatic ‘look at me’ in your persona, you’re actually the most centered, thoughtful person I’ve ever met. You show more gratitude towards those who help you than anybody I’ve ever met,” he said, shaking his head in amazement. “You are one of the most beautiful, most _talented_ , and most liked human beings on the planet and yet you never take the credit all by yourself, you give credit to those who don’t even really deserve it,” he said softly. “You’re selfless, and beautiful, and loving, and you genuinely care about _everybody_ you’ve ever met and it makes you the absolute most _amazing_ person in the world,” Tommy gushed, then smiled a large, wide smile. “And I love you more than anything. Seriously, dude, I’m the idiot for knowing you for two years before I married you,” he said pointedly. “No joke, I really did hate every dude you dated before me, I just thought it was ‘stealing my best friend time’ jealous, not ‘back off my man, bitch!’ jealous,” he said and everybody burst out laughing. “And I too want to spend the rest of my life figuring out everything that makes you who you are.”

Danielle sighed. “That was damn sweet,” she said and everybody snickered. “Well you’re already married, did it twice already before this, but Adam, Tommy, I don’t want ot make either of you the ‘bride’ so kiss you dudes, dudes,” she said and Adam laughed while Tommy grinned and stepped into Adam’s arms, kissing him slowly and tenderly. Adam curled his fingers around Tommy’s hair, tugging his head back some so he could lap into his mouth, earning wolf-whistles and catcalls from everybody watching as soon as Tommy whimpered.

Neil’s voice sounded out from off to their side. “GET A ROOM!”

Tommy pulled away from the kiss glancing over, then smirked up at Adam. “Let’s get him,” he said and Adam smirked.

“C’mon!” he said, and they held hands as they turned to run after Neil, who screamed and took off running. Everybody watched, laughing as they chased after him. 

“AHHH!” Neil cried as Tommy jumped on him, knocking him down to the sand. Adam squeaked as he tripped over them, going sprawling. “I give up, I give up!” Neil cried, squeaking as Tommy pinned him down, catching his wrists. Neil easily tossed him off and scrambled away to run, but Adam tripped him, cheering as he sat on his back, arms raised in victory.

“Aha! Got you, bitch!” he teased and Tommy walked over, grinning as he fell to his knees and proceeded to put sand in Neil’s hair with a happy giggle.

“NO- ew STOP!” Neil cried, trying to shove his brother off, though it proved to be harder than tossing Tommy’s much lighter weight. “No fair, there’s a cow on my back- OW!”

Adam shoved his face in the sand. “I’m not a cow, you’re a jerk,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Aww, you’re not a cow baby,” he said, kneeling so that he was tall enough to kiss Adam. “You’re fucking sexy,” he said, curling his hands around the back of Adam’s neck. Adam giggled against his lips, kissing him slowly. Tommy moaned softly and Neil screamed.

“EW! Don’t do that this close to me!” he cried helplessly, then began trying to bury his head in the sand, which made both Adam and Tommy burst out laughing.

Tommy just grinned suddenly. “Fine, no more kisses,” Adam pouted. “Unless… you can catch me!” he said, then jumped up and rushed off.

Adam laughed. “HEY!” he shouted, then ran off after Tommy, leaving Neil half-buried in the sand all alone while he chased Tommy. Tommy squealed when he caught him and picked him up, spinning them both around until they fell to the ground, laughing before Adam smiled and tugged Tommy on top of him, kissing him slowly. “I love you, TommyJoe.”

Tommy just smiled and sighed. “Love you too,” he said smiling as he watched the setting sun reflected in his husband’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gracias!


End file.
